Conservative Fund to Help GOP Candidate in Tight Colorado Senate Race

By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff Thu Jul 24, 1:24 PM ET

The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint's new "leadership" political action committee (PAC), endorsed former Rep. Bob Schaffer on Thursday as he tries to keep the seat of retiring Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard in Republican hands.

If DeMint proves to be a prodigious fundraiser, Schaffer could get a boost from SCF expenditures at a critical juncture in his matchup with Democratic Rep. Mark Udall.

CQ Politics upgraded Udall's chances of winning the seat earlier this week, changing the rating of the race from "No Clear Favorite" to "Leans Democratic". The tough environment for Republicans and a Democratic trend in the state.

Udall has been holding a single-digit lead in the polls up to now, although a new Quinnipiac University/Washington Post/Wall Street Journal survey, conducted July 14-22, has the race tied at 44 percent each with 11 percent undecided.

DeMint, who unveiled his new fund in an interview with CQ Politics last month, plans to use the "leadership" PAC to make unregulated independent expenditures on behalf of favored candidates such as Schaffer.

"Bob Schaffer is a true, common-sense conservative," DeMint said in a statement announcing the endorsement. "He believes in a strong national defense, limited government and traditional family values."

After launching in early June, SCF had collected a little bit less than $13,000 by the end of last month, according to federal election records. But spokesman Wesley Denton said it is attracting more contributions now.

"In just a few weeks, we are now over $70,000 and climbing fast," Denton said. "The response has been phenomenal from conservatives across the country, because they are excited about a way to focus their energies on principled candidates."

Lawmakers with leadership ambitions typically form PACs to raise money from their own donors and then make direct contributions to colleagues or non-incumbent party candidates. But those donations are limited to $10,000 per campaign.

DeMint would like to operate more like an independent group that can spend freely so long as it does not coordinate with the campaign.

In the past, DeMint has described a reluctance among donors to give to a Republican Party with a damaged brand. He hopes he can help his party by focusing on raising money for GOP candidates based on their conservative credentials rather than their party affiliation.

"It's important that Republicans provide a clear, attractive contrast," DeMint told CQ Politics in June.