Gregg Harper's Leadership PAC

Roll Call - Leadership PACs Grow Popular for Freshmen

Five months into the 111th Congress, the newest Members of the House have been particularly active in starting leadership PACs.

According to a search of Federal Election Commission filings, five Members who were elected in November already have their own leadership committees. That’s up from just two freshmen who had them at the same point of the 110th Congress.

The five freshmen who have already opened committees include four Republicans — Reps. Gregg Harper (Miss.), Duncan Hunter (Calif.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Aaron Schock (Ill.) — as well as Democratic Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.).

Harper, who served as the Rankin County GOP chairman in Mississippi before being elected, opened GreggPAC in mid- October of last year and ended up distributing more than $40,000 from that committee by Dec. 31.

The Mississippi Congressman ended up making contributions to 30 Republicans who ran for Congress in 2008, 21 of whom won.

“By forming the PAC ... six to eight weeks out from the November election it gave us the opportunity to help build the party and help some of the other incoming freshmen,” Harper said.

“I spent the years working in the trenches doing grass-roots campaigns,” he added. “And if you can do anything, whether it’s legwork or financially, to help good folks get elected, that’s something you want to do.”