State lawmaker won’t profit off Pawlenty

It's safe to say that Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington is a planner. For six years, he's owned the domain rights to two websites that could come in handy in the upcoming presidential election.

In 2005, Garofalo bought the domain names for Pawlentyforpresident.com and Pawlentyforpresident.net. Every year he puts down $12 to hold on to the domain rights.

It looks like his investment could deliver in a big way for Garofalo. He says several people expressed interest in buying the rights to the sites. He suggested some have offered upward of five figures but haven't nailed down a hard price.

So guess how much Garofalo is going to make on the deal?

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"I'm going to give it to Gov. Pawlenty for free," Garofalo said. "I'm a supporter and a friend, and he can have access to it if he wants it."

Garofalo has been in Pawlenty's corner for years. He was Pawlenty's "computer guy" during the 2002 gubernatorial race. He also campaigned for him in 2006 and was a vocal backer of his policies during Pawlenty's eight years as governor.

"Some people may say that I'm being dumb." Garofalo said about not selling the domain rights. "I think I'm being loyal."

A spokesman for Pawlenty's campaign said he couldn't divulge Pawlenty's online strategy. But he seemed appreciative of Garofalo's offer.

"We appreciate Pat's friendship and foresight," Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant said in an email.