The Republican Governor’s Association is meeting this week in Austin, Texas, and the attendees have a visitor – Matt Jacobson of Maine.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate is in Austin, schmoozing with the RGA, meeting the nation’s Republican Governors (and Governors-elect), and presumably networking with some national donors and consultants.  More importantly, Jacobson is the only Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate who is present.

This is significant for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Haley Barbour (the Chairman of the RGA) is widely considered to be one of the Republican Party’s most brilliant tacticians, and Jacobson is there saying hello to him.  The RGA will not get involved in the primary officially, but institutional support from some key allies certainly can’t help.

It also puts Jacobson in contact with a great deal of blue state Republican Governors – something highly valuable for a Republican trying to win in a blue state.  Picking the brain of Tim Pawlenty, Linda Lingle, Chris Christie, and others who have won in “hostile territory” can certainly give some great strategic context that may help his team craft a message and political strategy.

In a release today, Jacobson had the following statement:

“I am honored to be here representing Maine at this important event,” stated Jacobson. “States are the laboratories of democracy, and these Governors and Governors-elect are leading the way toward fiscally responsible solutions to many of our national issues. The RGA has also proven itself as a successful political operation with their recent wins – and I am encouraged and optimistic about what that means for my campaign for Governor in 2010. “

Also important is some early lobbying for RGA money if Jacobson were to win the nomination.  This is not the first time Jacobson has met with RGA officials, and building a relationship with them will pay off big time after the primary.

I have been told that the RGA is considering sinking 1 to 2 million dollars into Maine to win the Blaine House, so long as the polls show a reasonable chance of victory.  This is likely whether or not Jacobson is the nominee – but building those bridges early will certainly go a long way toward guaranteeing that money.

This by no means says anything about the coming primary – it is entirely possible this will not effect it in the least – but it is at the very least a signal that Jacobson is very serious about his run and is interested in building a strong network behind him, both nationally and locally.

I will be especially interested to see if this helps build a larger, broader, national base of donors for Jacobson.  It is one of the things I would be focusing on, were I in that room.