Pawlenty, Cain Set to Officially Jump Into White House Race

Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain are set to become the latest Republican presidential contenders to become full-fledged official candidates for the White House.

Pawlenty will formally announce his campaign on Monday while in Iowa, his office told reporters Friday.

Cain, meanwhile, announced on his website that he’ll make a “final decision” on whether to run during a public rally in Atlanta on Saturday. (Given the post mentions that Cain merchandise will be available at the event, it’s probably a safe bet that he’s running.)

Neither announcement represents anything close to a surprise. Both men have been actively campaigning for weeks, and earlier this month both were among a small group of contenders to take part in the first GOP debate of the nominating season.

Many Beltway observers consider Pawlenty as one of the most credible GOP contenders in the field, but so far that hasn’t translated into a strong showing in national polls for the former Minnesota governor. In a Fox News poll taken late last month Pawlenty came in tied for seventh with Michele Bachmann, with 3 percent of the vote.

Cain, meanwhile, has fared even worse in recent polls (at least those where his name is even listed among the candidates). A Gallup poll found that less than 30 percent of self-identified Republicans were familiar with the former Godfather's Pizza CEO.