Pawlenty Forms Exploratory Committee

Politico reports:

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will file paperwork today to organize his bid for the White House into an exploratory committee, he told supporters on a conference call today.

"We're filing the paperwork today to form an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States," he said on the call, to which POLITICO dialed in, he said, saying the committee would allow him to take the "initial steps" to run for president.

The bid, to be announced on Facebook later today, will be headquartered in the Twin Cities.

An aide, Phil Musser, asked donors to wait until April 1 to contribute to Pawlenty's campaign, in order to avoid the impression that he'd tried and failed to raise much money in his first quarter.