Right Pundits

Meet Mary Pawlenty. She is the wife of Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota who is rumored to be one of several on John McCain’s short list for Vice President. Read her biography and see photos and a video below.

The buzz that John McCain is going to announce his VP choice this week has been fun — most likely to blunt the unprecedented amount of press Barack Obama has been getting on his foreign trip. Yesterday and the day before that, focus was on Mitt Romney. Today it’s all about Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota who met with Team McCain at their D.C. Headquarters this morning.

Pawlenty is a rising star in the Republican party. If Pawlenty is selected as the running mate for John McCain, it is expected that he and his wife Mary, a former Judge, will bring a more conservative-leaning image to the campaign which up to now has been anemic on that front at best.

Interestingly, the upcoming Republican Convention is September 1-4th in St. Paul, Minnesota – Governor Pawlenty’s home state.

8.28.2008 UPDATE: John McCain will appear at a rally in Dayton, Ohio with his running mate on Friday, August 29, 2008. Rumors have swarmed all day about various people from the alleged short list that will be appearing with McCain in Dayton tomorrow. There have been some pretty credible rumors that Tim Pawlenty will be John McCain’s running mate. He and his wife, Mary Pawlenty, canceled interviews today in Denver adding to the speculation that he will be with McCain in Dayton tomorrow.

She was born Mary Anderson in 1961 so her age is 47. She grew up in Edina, Minnesota, the youngest of five daughters. She has been the First Lady of Minnesota since 2002.

After graduating from high school in 1979, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bethel University in 1983, and a juris doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1986.

The future first lady practiced law in Houston, Texas for one year following graduation, and then returned to Minnesota to marry Tim Pawlenty, whom she had met in law school.

In 1994, while practicing as a partner and civil litigator, the first lady was appointed to the bench as a district court judge by then Governor Arne Carlson. She served as a judge from 1994 to 2007. Her work as a judge included all levels of criminal, civil, family, and juvenile cases. Currently, Mrs. Pawlenty is a mediator of civil disputes, assisting parties in resolving their differences by mutual agreement rather than through litigation.

As first lady of Minnesota, Judge Pawlenty frequently visits elementary schools to teach students about democracy and the three branches of government, with a special emphasis on the judiciary. She has also created the First Lady’s Heart Health Initiative, an awareness campaign for women about reducing the risk of heart disease and the First Lady’s Military Family Care Initiative, a program that allows community-based organizations to volunteer their time and services to help families of deployed soldiers.

She and her husband Gov. Tim Pawlenty, live in Eagan, Minnesota with their 2 daughters, Anna age 15 and Mara age 12.