Joe Hunter, Cannon's chief of staff who organized the committee, said Eagle PAC is a standard committee "that a guy with Chris's level of seniority" would set up. It hasn't raised any money yet, but will hold its first fundraisers in the next few months, he said.
"Discussions and deliberations to set up a leadership PAC have been going on a long time," said Hunter "Part of the urgency was the election of 2006 when Republicans lost the House."
He said the election was a strong signal that it was time to get behind conservative candidates.
University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said that the primary benefit of creating a leadership PAC is that it allows the member to pass out money to colleagues and is helpful, "particularly in moving up in the leadership process."
"Usually that's the purpose for creating one," Burbank said. "If you had no ambition there would be very little reason to create one."
Cannon historically has been a poor fundraiser, raising a total of just over $3 million for his campaigns since he first ran in 1996, while contributing $1.8 million of his own money, according to figures compiled by Political Moneyline. The average House race in 2006 cost $660,638, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
He has created two PACs in the past. The House Managers PAC was created after the impeachment of President Clinton to try to raise money to protect the House members who acted as prosecutors in the trial and were targeted by the new group MoveOn.org.
The House Managers PAC raised $821,242, but burned through much of the money paying for things like travel, meals and consultants, and actually gave little to the managers. Today it's $80,000 in debt.
Cannon then created the Western Leadership Fund, a so-called 527 account that enjoyed more lenient fundraising and reporting regulations. It was led by Cannon's former chief of staff, David Safavian, who left Cannon's office for a job in the Bush administration, and was later convicted of lying to investigators looking into the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The PAC raised little money and folded after a few years.
While there is a strong Mormon presence in the Eagle PAC's leadership - board member Bill Simmons, a Utah native and lobbyist at Dutko Worldwide, who has lobbied for the state, is Mormon; as is board member Brett Marcois, who was a grassroots organizer for the Bush 2004 campaign - the objective is not merely to tap Mormon donors, Hunter said.
"The reality of it is that Chris Cannon is a Mormon from Utah and part of it is inherent in a leadership PAC that Chris Cannon would establish is that it would rely somewhat on trying to tap Mormons who are politically involved," said Hunter, who is not Mormon. "That's not the goal of it. The goal is to help get good guys elected to Congress."
Simmons and advisory board member Ron Kaufman, a GOP National Committeeman from Massachusetts, are both closely involved in Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
Hunter said the discussions for Eagle PAC predated Romney's presidential run and it was a coincidence that some of the same individuals were involved in both efforts.
