Tim Pawlenty,Fills Out Political Team
Tim Pawlenty,Fills Out Political Team :A team of Republican consultants with experience on the presidential level will help run Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s new political action committee.
Pawlenty filed paperwork Thursday with federal regulators to form his Freedom First PAC, a national fundraising committee he can use to aid GOP candidates in upcoming elections. Past presidential candidates have started such committees to raise their profile ahead of a White House run, a possibility Pawlenty hasn’t ruled out.
Pawlenty introduces himself and touches on his anti-tax, strong-defense political philosophy in a video message on a new Web site that went live Thursday.
“This is an important time in America. The stakes are high and standing on the sidelines isn’t an option. I’m making a commitment to you to fight for our principles,” he said. “I’m asking for your support and I want to hear your voice.”
The committee’s strategic and political planning team includes consultant Terry Nelson, who was involved in the presidential campaigns of Republicans George W. Bush and John McCain. Also on board is former Bush White House political director Sara Taylor, former Federal Election Commission chairman Michael Toner and former Republican Governors Association executive director Phil Musser.
The PAC’s co-chairmen are William Strong, vice chairman at investment bank Morgan Stanley, and Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman and partner of a Washington lobbying firm who advised Republican Mitt Romney during a 2008 presidential bid.
His communications team is filled out with ex-staffers from the Republican National Committee, including a couple with experience in presidential politics in 2008.
Pawlenty is in the final 15 months of his second term. Although a heavy travel schedule, the PAC and other recent moves suggest he is positioning himself for 2012, he denies having made a decision about a presidential campaign.
The formation of the PAC coincides with the beginning of a new fundraising quarter. Pawlenty hopes to make a splash at the outset with an early November fundraiser in Minneapolis that seeks a $5,000 donation per person.
Among possible 2012 rivals, Romney has raised the most money so far, with Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, pulling in $1.6 million during the first six months of the year. Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, collected $733,000 in that period. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, had $304,000 in contributions.
They can use the money to pay for travel and give it away to Republicans on next year’s ballot. The PACs are separate from the accounts each would need for an actual campaign.
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