A super PAC that might come to Rep. Todd Akin’s aid blasted out an email Tuesday morning, asking supporters whether it should invest in the U.S. Senate race of the embattled Republican who was all but expelled from his party last month.
“Knowing that conservative Todd Akin will face liberal Claire McCaskill in November and that the race could decide control of the Senate, should the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) endorse Akin and help him raise the support he needs to win?” says the first of two questions on a survey emailed by the Senate Conservatives Fund.
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The political action committee founded by Sen. Jim DeMint has said it will soon announce whether it will endorse Mr. Akin, who desperately needs fundraising help after his comments about “legitimate rape” cost him the support of nearly every leading Republican.
Before the comments and resulting backlash, Republicans had high hopes they could seize Mrs. McCaskill’s Missouri Senate seat and improve their chances of gaining majority in the chamber.
But now that it’s near-certain Mr. Akin won’t drop out of the race — with today as the final deadline for him to do so — some are reconsidering whether they should help him out after all.
The PAC hasn’t endorsed Mr. Akin in the past, because he wouldn’t agree to one of their litmus tests: supporting a ban on congressional earmarks. But officials appear willing to overlook that after the congressman recently agreed to support a ban, according to one of his campaign advisers.
“If SCF endorses Todd Akin, how much would you be willing to contribute to his campaign?” the second survey question said, allowing participants to indicate whether they’d give amounts ranging from nothing at all to $1,000.
