Tim Pawlenty on Friday beefed up his staff in the key early caucus state of Iowa, where he is looking to make a play to kick-start his campaign.
Iowa House Majority Whip Erik Helland (R) will lead the former Minnesota governor's team.
He will be assisted by Annie Kelly, a veteran of Pawlenty's political action committee who signed on as state deputy director, and Tracie Gibler, who will serve as state political director.
Helland worked on McCain's 2008 campaign in the Hawkeye state.
While we're talking Iowa and staff, some big news from Jonathan Martin, who reports that Mitt Romney has hired Sara Craig to direct his state campaign.
The hiring of a day-to-day manager in Iowa offers the best evidence yet that, while he wants to lower expectations in Iowa, Romney still intends to mount a full campaign there.
.... The hiring of Craig enables Romney to ramp up enough to begin doing the sort of organizing necessary to have an infrastructure in place for the caucuses. But it also reflects a campaign determined to stay leaner this time around.
