Jeff Larson, a Republican operative with many Minnesota connections, will be the chief of staff for the Republican National Committee.

Larson, who lives in Hudson, was the CEO of the host committee when the Republican National Convention was held in St. Paul in 2008. He reportedly was involved with buying $150,000 in clothes and accessories for Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin at the time.

And Larson rented space in his Washington basement to his friend Norm Coleman while Coleman was serving in the U.S. Senate.

He’ll work for new RNC chair Reince Priebus, who had been chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party.