NEW ORLEANS – Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) says his party is set to gain more seats than in 1994.

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NEW ORLEANS -- Gov. Pawlenty notes his state's historical Democratic lean and delivers a line sure to draw some jeers.

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NEW ORLEANS -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's political action committee raised $566,000 in the first quarter, it announced Saturday.

The total, which was announced in advance of Pawlenty's video address to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference here this afternoon, is less than half what the PAC raised in the fourth quarter of 2009 -- its first in existence.

The Freedom First PAC has now raised a total of $1.84 million. Pawlenty, who is exploring a 2012 presidential run, has begun endorsing candidates for Congress in 2010.

“President Obama and Congressional Democrats are taking our country in the wrong direction and Americans have had enough,” Pawlenty said. “We need to put freedom first again in America, and stop the out-of-control spending in Washington. The early support for our organization will help us elect candidates who can rein in Washington and renew the promise of freedom.”

Despite the dropoff in the first quarter, Pawlenty's six-month total puts him on pace with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's PAC, which raised nearly $3 million in 2009. Romney's PAC hasn't released fundraising totals for the first quarter yet.

NEW ORLEANS -- The trial of Michael Steele will hold a vital public hearing Saturday when the embattled RNC chairman speaks.

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Michael Steele said Friday that he has made mistakes as chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

During an appearance on Sean Hannity's show on the Fox News Channel, Steele said, "I'm trying to do the best I can as national chairman. I've made mistakes..."

Steele also defended himself, saying, "I've got three victories under my belt: New Jersey, Massachusetts and Virginia," referencing the two 2009 governor races and Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) win in January.

He added, "Look, this is the bottom line: I stay focused very much on winning in November. I'm going to work very hard to make sure more Republicans, more good, fiscal conservatives get into the Senate, into Congress, into the governorships, into the state legislatures this November."

Steele has been made a series of gaffes since taking over at the RNC. He has also attracted criticism from GOP officials on how the RNC has spent some of its money in the 2010 cycle.

House Democrats have landed a big recruiting coup in Florida, with the repeat candidacy of former Miami-Dade County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia.

A Democratic source confirmed to The Hill that Garcia will run again. He fell to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) by just six points in 2008, and now that Diaz-Balart is running in the neighboring district being vacated by his brother, Garcia will be a top Democratic hope in a competitive district.

State Rep. David Rivera is off to a fast start on the GOP side, having raised $725,000 in the first quarter, but Garcia has shown himself to be a capable fundraiser as well. In his loss to Diaz-Balart last cycle, Garcia raised a strong $1.8 million.

It's the first good fundraising news in a while for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) which has lost top candidates in a series of races in recent months. In addition to those losses, Democrats haven't been able to add many targets to their list for 2010. The DCCC has assured that it will play offense this year, despite the many seats it will have to defend in a tough environment.

Rep. Brad Ellsworth's (D-Ind.) Senate campaign has raised $625,000 in the last six weeks, according to a release. The Ellsworth camp noted that 80 percent of the contributions were from in-state donors. It now boasts more than $1 million cash on hand.

Ellsworth will also benefit from the $1 million that retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) transferred to the Indiana Democratic Party in March. Bayh spent close to $2.3 million on his 2004 reelection.

Former Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), the leading contender for the GOP nod, has not yet released his first quarter fundraising numbers.

As Marco Rubio's fundraising takes off, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has seen his numbers fall precipitously.

Crist's campaign just released its figures for the first three months of 2010. He raised $1.1 million (compared to Rubio's gigantic $3.6 million, which he announced earlier this week) and wasn't able to bank any of it, with his cash on hand remaining at about $7.5 million.

The numbers reveal just how the game has changed in the Senate primary. Crist raised $4.3 million in his initial quarter of fundraising and has seen his numbers drop off steadily since then, to $2.4 million and then $2 million in the last two quarters. Rubio, meanwhile, has seen his fundraising skyrocket as he has overtaken Crist in the polls. Rubio's total have gone up from under $350,000 in his first two quarters to the huge sum he announced earlier this week.

NEW ORLEANS — Big-name Republicans aren’t joining Newt Gingrich’s call to rebrand the GOP the “Party of Yes.”

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