Pawlenty to Announce Fund-raising Team

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty plans to announce on Monday his fundraising team that will be tasked with raising the tens of millions of dollars he’ll need to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, the Washington Post reports.

Brian Haley, who serves as the national finance director for Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC, will lead the finance operation. He served in the same capacity for Sen. John McCain’s political action committee. His deputy will be Katie McBreen, who helped Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran win during last year’s mid-term elections. In 2008, she worked for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during his presidential bid.

The 16-person team will be assigned specific states and regions, which will help Pawlenty reach beyond the much smaller sums he had to raise during his gubernatorial campaigns. Still, his advisors note that money will not decided who wins the GOP presidential nomination, and that Romney will most likely raise and spend the most money.