SCF May Back Akin; Akin Will Back SCF Earmark Ban

By Dan Friedman and Julie Sobel // September 21, 2012 | 5:26 p.m.

The Senate Conservatives Fund, the former political action committee of Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., turned Super PAC, may help embattled Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., raise money for his race against Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., after imposing one condition: Akin will support an earmark ban the group backs, according GOP aides involved in the conversations.

"He has agreed to their earmark ban," said Rick Tyler, a senior aide to the Akin campaign who long worked for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

That's a shift for a lawmaker who has defended the right of legislators to earmark appropriations on the grounds the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.

But even the prospect of support from the group, along with support from DeMint and figures like Gingrich, who is joining Akin at a fundraiser and news conference Monday, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a vocal Akin backer, could help validate Akin with other conservatives and regain access to a national conservative fundraising. He needs to step up fundraising to compete with the well-funded McCaskill. Tyler said other national groups are considering supporting Akin, but declined to name them.

Akin has struggled to raise money since his August 19 comment the that "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy led the National Republican Senatorial Committee and other Republican groups to withdraw financial support.

A Republican close to the Senate Conservatives Fund said the group is "looking at the race carefully and could get involved if it looks like he can win."

The official estimated the organization could raise $250,000 in contributions for Akin. The official said that decision will come shortly after September 25 -- after which Akin can no longer petition to be removed from the ballot, as national GOP leaders have pressured him to do -- and will be based on public polling and possibly on independent polling by SCF. The official suggested a single digit margin in the race would show Akin is viable enough to support.

"Probably in a week, week and a half, we will look at how the ground has shifted," the official said. If Akin has a shot at winning "down the stretch" in the race, the organization may also consider independent expenditures in Missouri, he said.

Super PAC officials, like Akin campaign aides, argue that once Akin is locked onto the ballot, the dynamic of the race will change. Although Democrats are widely expected to step up negative advertising against Akin after that date, Akin backers hope that once he is indisputably the GOP candidate through November, money and support may return for the pragmatic reason that Republicans will struggle to regain the Senate without competing in Missouri. "I don't know if Todd Akin can win," the official said. "I know that he hurt himself. I know that the party hurt him very badly ... I think everyone is going to be watching very closely over the next 10 days to see how the race shifts and what else is happening on the map." DeMint told The Hill this week that that he would consider helping Akin and that the NRSC should consider doing the same. "I'm certainly looking at the race now Todd's a good conservative; he's been a good representative for a long time. He did make a mistake and said it was a mistake," DeMint said. While DeMint no longer technically heads Senate Conservatives Fund, due to its conversion in July, he can influence the group's decisions, and the group would be unlikely to back a candidate DeMint did not support. But the group was already considering supporting Akin without public or private encouragement from the senator. The PAC and the Club for Growth attacked Akin over earmarks during the Missouri GOP primary this summer. SCF spokesperson Matt Hoskins called Akin "weak because he's too liberal on spending and earmarks." But the SCF official said Friday that differences with Akin came down mostly to Akin not realizing that his view that Congress has power to redirect federal funds does not preclude a ban on geographically targeted earmarks. McCaskill spokesperson Caitlan Legacki on Friday said Akin's apparent shift contradicts his claims to be a principled candidate. "He's willing to abandon his long-standing beliefs just for money," Legacki said. "What kind of Washington politician runs an ad defending earmarks in the primary, then two months later, turns around and changes his position on a dime, for a dime? This is exactly the kind of transactional politics that makes people sick."

Hotline On Call

2013

2012

2011

2010

Hotline's Fresh Take On National Politics