freedom first logoGov. Pawlenty’s national ambitions haven’t led his political action committee, Freedom First, to forget his fellow Republicans on the home front in Minnesota. In an email to supporters, the PAC says it has donated to U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen. Meanwhile, one of Paulsen’s DFL rivals has a new radio spot to drum up support among party delegates. Minnesota Public Radio quotes from Freedom First’s email:

I’ve been humbled by the initial support for our efforts. Thanks to many generous contributions, Freedom First has already been able to help the campaigns of Representatives John Kline, Eric Paulsen, and Michele Bachmann, as well as former Congressman Rob Portman, who is fighting to retain a critical Senate seat for Republicans in Ohio. This support is just scratching the surface — we plan to support many more candidates next year as we work to elect more Republican governors and retake control of Congress.

MPR notes that the message doesn’t mention the PAC’s support for Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate who ran against endorsed Republican Dede Scozzafava in a New York State special election to Congress. Judging by the statement, Minnesotans account for three of five recipients of cash from Freedom First so far.

A challenger to Paulsen, the lone first-termer among that GOP trio, is Maureen Hackett, whose campaign unveiled a new radio ad over the weekend. Unlike an earlier email from her campaign, the spot doesn’t make reference to Bachmann, the incumbent in the neighboring Sixth District.

I’m Maureen Hackett. I’m running for Congress in the 3rd District because I want to make sure the opportunities I had are available for my daughter’s generation. My parents didn’t have much money, but I was able to get affordable loans to attend college and earn my medical degree. I served as an Air Force officer then raised a family here in the Twin Cities with my husband, a small business owner. That’s the American Dream and we need to defend and revive it.

Education, jobs, health care and clean, American-made energy. Those are the issues won us the last two elections and they’re the keys to making sure our future is as strong as our past. Now it’s time to make this the decade when America reaches new levels of opportunity. If you’re ready to help lead the way, attend your precinct caucuses on Tuesday, February 2nd. Sign up, become a delegate. By standing together and defending our values, we can make the change we voted for into reality.

PREPARED AND PAID FOR BY HACKETT FOR CONGRESS. WWW.HACKETTFORCONGRESS.ORG.

I’m Maureen Hackett and I approve this message.

Also running for the Third District seat is DFLer Jim Meffert. State Sen. Terri Bonoff, who lost the DFL endorsement to Ashwin Madia in 2008, has said “the door is open” to her entry into the race.