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Avenatti says he’ll launch political action committee as he flirts with presidential bid

Michael Avenatti is everywhere -- and that is just how the Trump-provocateur intends to proceed.

"I'm no 'low-energy Jeb,'" Avenatti cracked on Tuesday morning, telling NBC News that he is formally launching a political action committee as he flirts with a presidential bid of his own while continuing to represent Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump.

"I have a lot of energy. And if you're going to seriously consider running for president, you better have a lot of energy, especially in today's day in age."

On Tuesday afternoon, immediately following the conviction of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and the guilty plea by Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, Avenatti was on national television, a medium he has frequented since the late winter, declaring the day "vindication" for him and Daniels.

But almost daily, now, Avenatti spawns a headline or a highly-engaged Twitter moment for something unrelated to Stormy Daniels.

Less than 24 hours before his cable circuit run, the lawyer appeared, unexpectedly, live on MTV's pink carpet outside the Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Monday night, promoting youth voter engagement to the several million viewers turned into the broadcast.

And last week, he accompanied a 9-year-old boy from Houston to Guatemala to reunite with his mother after the pair was separated at the U.S.-Mexico border this summer and apart for 81 days.

With a political action committee, Avenatti would be able to redirect donations, or resources, to specific candidates. Other 2020 prospects, like Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden, have created similar organizations to aid their political endeavors.

Avenatti will return to Iowa on Wednesday to address a Democratic group focused on recruiting candidates to run for county positions in the state. He made his political debut in the state two weeks ago, stopping at the Iowa State Fair as well as an annual party dinner.

Last weekend, the lawyer made stops at two separate notable annual Democratic functions – he addressed the Democrats' Kennedy-King Dinner in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, and, then, a county picnic in New Hampshire on Sunday.

"We had sold less than 100 tickets before he announced," said Ray Buckley, the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "And there were over 300 sold by the time of the picnic – with a day's notice. People came from all over – people I didn't know."

Buckley said there is "a lot of interest in having strong voices stand up to Donald Trump."

Other potential 2020 Democratic candidates have taken a less vocal, brash approach to their presidential ambitions. On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, when asked by MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell about her plans, pushed aside the conversation: "I am running for Senate in Massachusetts, 2018."

Avenatti rejected the notion that his public mulling of a 2020 run is a distraction from the midterm elections. A former speechwriter for President Obama, Jon Lovett, tweeted at Avenatti on Tuesday that a television set "is where you should be" called his flirtation with running for president "a farce."

"I'm raising money—every place I go I raise money. You understand that, right?" Avenatti injected in an interview with NBC. "I went to Ohio—raised a bunch of money. I went to Florida—raised a bunch of money. I went to Iowa—raised a bunch of money. I went to New Hampshire—raised a bunch of money."

He continued: "I've put myself out there and have made myself available. And I'm going to continue to do so. I'm not raising money for myself. I'm raising money for Democratic candidates."

Avenatti said he intends to campaign in 20 states by November.

--Mike Memoli contributed.