Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will formally announce his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday in Iowa, an aide said.

According to the aide, Pawlenty's wife, Mary, will introduce him to a crowd of Iowa voters in Des Moines. He will follow up the announcement with a trip to Florida, another of the early primary states, for a town hall meeting on Facebook. After that, he is off to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to meet with reporters at the Cato Institute.

In March, Pawlenty became the first major GOP candidate to launch a presidential exploratory committee, which allowed him to raise money for his bid. He was elected governor in 2002. After serving two terms - he had spent a decade in Minnesota's legislature - he chose not to seek re-election, instead opting to form his exploratory committee.

Through March 31, he had taken in $160,000 for his campaign.

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