Pawlenty to headline major GOP event

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) will headline a major event for the Iowa Republican Party in November as he continues to move toward a run for president.

Pawlenty will be the featured speaker at the state GOP's "Leadership for Iowa" event on Nov. 7, where he will join candidates for governor and a host of Republican activists.

"Gov. Pawlenty is a good pick because he's now vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, so he's a natural fit to come in and talk about leadership in the Republican Party," said Danielle Plogmann.

Ticket prices for the annual fall fundraiser have been dropped to $25 in order to make the event open to more than just the party's high-dollar donors, Plogmann said. The event will be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

"Gov. Pawlenty is an innovative, conservative leader and, as Iowa Republicans prepare for a robust gubernatorial primary election and nationally-watched general election for governor, his message of balanced budgets, lower taxes, and market-based reforms for health care and education will resonate with all Iowans," state party chairman Matt Strawn said in a statement.

The activists who attend, some of whom saw Pawlenty stump for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during the 2008 primary campaign, will prove key to the Minnesota governor's success, or lack thereof, if Pawlenty decides on a bid for president in 2012. Iowa hosts the nation's first caucuses, typically the first electoral contest of any kind during the primary season.

It is the latest in a series of aggressive moves Pawlenty has taken toward a potential presidential run. Last week, he officially unveiled his political action committee, the Freedom First PAC, and announced he had signed up a number of well-known consultants and new media strategists.

Pawlenty will hold his first PAC fundraiser in Washington at a brew pub near Capitol Hill. The PAC formally kicks off with a high-dollar event in Minneapolis the day after Election Day.

But the trip to Iowa, three days after the fundraiser in Minneapolis, will certainly raise eyebrows. It will be his first visit since 2008, and the first time he will go with an agenda other than stumping for another presidential contender.

The Minnesota governor has increased his travel schedule in recent months, keynoting a Republican National Committee meeting in San Diego, addressing the Values Voter Summit in Washington and campaigning for gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia in advance of next month's elections.

Next week, Pawlenty will address the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington before heading to Newport Beach, Calif., to speak to the Western Conservative Political Action Conference.

At each stop, he has held side meetings with key players in order to introduce himself to potential fundraisers. A Pawlenty spokesman would not confirm if similar meetings were set up for the Iowa trip, saying instead that details were still coming together.

Pawlenty will be the latest potential presidential contender to head to the Hawkeye State. Last week, ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) gave a speech to the conservative American Future Fund in Dubuque and to a group against abortion rights in Des Moines. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal made stops in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids last November.

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