Pawlenty heads to Illinois on McCain's behalf

St. Paul, Minn. — The governor is scheduled to fly to Springfield, Ill., Saturday morning. He'll campaign in several southern Illinois cities, and will also speak at a GOP Lincoln Day Dinner in Peoria on Saturday night.

Ben Golnik, the head of McCain's Minnesota leadership campaign, says it's also possible that Pawlenty could campaign in another Midwestern state on Sunday before returning to Minnesota.

McCain is hoping to hold on to his GOP frontrunner status with wins in many of the more than 20 states that hold caucuses or primaries on Tuesday.

Pawlenty, who co-chairs McCain's presidential committee, has made several campaign stops on behalf of McCain this election season. He has also traveled to Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa.