A familiar name in his home state and to many inside the Beltway, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has worked deliberately this year to boost his profile further, especially among conservative activists in key states. The announcement today that he's formed a new political action committee, called "Freedom First PAC," is the latest step in that effort, and will help the potential presidential hopeful continue what has been a busy political travel schedule.

"When the Governor said he wouldn't seek re-election, he said in addition to finishing his term strong, he would help other Republicans candidates, and obviously a PAC is one key way to do that," said Alex Conant, who is advising Pawlenty on a volunteer basis.

Just this past week, Pawlenty spoke at the Value Voters Summit in Washington and at an Ohio Republican Party dinner. He's also headlined dinners for state Republican organizations in Arkansas and Florida, with another in South Dakota coming in two weeks. As vice chair of the Republican Governors Association, he's also campaigned for candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. These trips to date have been paid for by the sponsoring organizations; his PAC will allow him to accept more invitations as time goes on, in addition to supporting local candidates in states like New Hampshire and Iowa.

Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin already have formed PACs. Pawlenty's entry to that club drew more attention from the DNC, which called the PAC "more evidence that Pawlenty is, at best, a part-time Governor who cares more about his national political ambitions than the people of Minnesota."