The Hill News

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) admitted he'll have to "reassess" the direction of his campaign if he finishes poorly in tomorrow's Iowa straw poll.

Pawlenty said he could be forced to scale back his national infrastructure if he performs worse-than-expected on Saturday, where he's expected to finish somewhere in the top three of competitors.

"We may not have any choice, if it went that way," Pawlenty said at a breakfast in Iowa sponsored by Politico of the threat of a poor finish to his campaign.

Pawlenty's targeted Iowa voters in particular, but faces stiff competition in the straw poll â€" and February's caucuses â€" from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), each of whom are looking to make a strong showing, too, in Iowa.

A poor finish could threaten Pawlenty's campaign because of his lackluster fundraising to date, and high spending rate going into the straw poll. A number of top staff me! mbers are working with little or no pay, the Washington Post reported in June.

"If the thing went the other way hard, would we have to probably retrench or something? Probably, but I don't think that will be the outcome," Pawlenty said. "If we do really bad, then we'll have to reassess."