Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, is kicking off what is likely to be a busy year with $1.3 million in the bank, Politico's look at the group's Federal Election Commission filings finds.
The FEC records show that Palin raised $279,000 over a five-week period at the end of the year, donations that came primarily in sums of $200 or less.
The PAC also spent nearly $230,000 during the filing period and a total of nearly $2.6 million throughout 2010, according to the report.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit, however, is the apparent lack of any notable fundraising or staffing push from the political arm of a candidate who has been among the most talked-about potential 2012 GOP presidential contenders.
From Politico's report:
The filing shows no indication that Palin has started to ramp up for a potential presidential run, as no new staff shows up on SarahPAC's expenses -- which remain very low compared to a campaign of even moderate size. Her PAC spent nearly $230,000 for the period between the end of the campaign and end of the calendar year, and over $2.6 million in 2010.
Despite those details, a recent report from RealClearPolitics suggested that Palin's operatives are, in fact, actively developing a ground game in the key primary state of Iowa, though perhaps not in a manner that would be clear from the FEC filing.
From the RealClearPolitics report:
Palin's initial Iowa push appears to differ most clearly from that of other candidates in that no SarahPAC staffer has been assigned to work the state on the ground, and her aides are not yet making hard pushes to lock up experienced operatives.
According to RCP, Palin's pre-campaign architecture has instead been heavily constructed through third-party grassroots activists and private discussions with local Tea Party leaders.