DeMint's PAC Looks to Raise $174K for O'Donnell "By Next Week"

A top GOP strategist emails THE WEEKLY STANDARD to say it's very unlikely that national Republican party organizations will be spending money on Christine O'Donnell's Senate bid in Delaware:

“Considering the strong support that Christine O’Donnell has received from Jim DeMint, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, and given their fervent belief that she’s a viable candidate, we have no doubt that support will extend into the general.  Given that already strong level of support, I expect national Republicans will be re-directing their resources to other states like California, Washington and Wisconsin, where Republicans have an opportunity to win.  But we look forward to Senator DeMint carrying through on his promise of an O’Donnell victory this November.”

Matt Hoskins, a spokesman for Senator Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund, writes in an email to TWS that the Senate Conservatives Fund is rising to the challenge:

The party's coordinated spending limit for a Senate nominee in Delaware is $87,000. The RNC and the NRSC each have that limit so it is double that amount. $174,000 total. Since the party is saying they will cut her off, this will be SCF's initial goal. We will likely raise her this money from grassroots by next week.

This will be $174,000 in new money earmarked for O'Donnell. On the Senate Conservatives Fund website, donors can choose to earmark their donations for a specific candidate or candidates. Hoskins says the SCF has not decided whether to make independent expenditures, which can be unlimited, from its general fund on O'Donnell's behalf.