Pawlenty reaches out to middle class voters

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty used the spotlight at the Republican National Convention to try to connect with middle class voters.

In his prime time television address Wednesday night, Pawlenty drew on his roots growing up in blue-collar South St. Paul. The self-proclaimed "Sam's Club" Republican talked about his father, a truck driver, and his mother, a homemaker who died when he was 16.

The former presidential candidate told his audience GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has a plan to create middle-class jobs by lowering taxes and leading a government that works for the American people.

Republican National Committee member Pat Anderson tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press that it won't be the last we see of Pawlenty. She says he has a "bright future in politics."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.