PAC Men, and Women

The governor's former legislative director has a Super PAC to support the run for president, and now there's another such PAC — headed by former Perry chief of staff and legislator Mike Toomey.

The PAC — "Make Us Great Again" — is backed by Toomey, now a lobbyist, and Brint Ryan, head of the Dallas accounting firm Ryan & Co. Ryan is a financial supporter of Perry and other top Republicans in Texas. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts but must remain independent of any campaigns — they cannot legally coordinate their activities.

It's a dogpile. Earlier, former legislator and Perry aide Dan Shelley announced two political action committees geared to helping the governor win the support of veterans.

And it's competitive, too. In their pitch, Toomey and Ryan urge potential supporters to ignore other independent efforts for Perry in favor of the new organization. They've hired Elizabeth Blakemore and Cynthia Wiedemann from Texas to help with their fundraising.

The committee filed organization papers at the end of July with the Federal Election Commission. The treasurer is Paul Kilgore, a former aide to Newt Gingrich, among others, who now runs a Washington, D.C.-based campaign finance firm called PDS Compliance. In its filing, the PAC says it was not formed solely to support one candidate.