Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman is the latest to join in on the Super PAC craze.
The Minnesota Republican is helping launch the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Super PAC that will focus on helping Republicans in the House. Coleman will chair the new PAC.
Coleman is also chairman of the American Action Network, a non-profit conservative group that was active in the 2010 elections. He's not the only one with ties to both groups: Brian Walsh, who is president of American Action Network, is also going to be president of the Congressional Leadership Fund.
The Congressional Leadership Fund is launching with a big fundraising splash, hosting an event in the Capitol Hill Club that will feature House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and several other top House Republicans.
Super PACs, which were created in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that loosened campaign finance rules, have exploded in the 2012 election cycle. The PACs can collect unlimited donations, so long as they don't coordinate with candidates' campaigns.
Walsh said that the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the only Republican-leaning group with its sole focus on the House, was started in response to Democratic groups like the House Majority PAC that are doing the same thing on the left.
Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman who was an adviser to Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign, is also joining the Super PAC.
