It's clear that the influential Club for Growth is very fond of Marco Rubio and not at all crazy about Charlie Crist. It's less clear whether the club will throw its weight behind Rubio's underdog Senate campaign, particularly with Rubio's less than stellar early fundraising. If the club fully embraces the Rubio campaign and members are enthusiastic about him, it could mean more than $1 million in bundled donations to help the Miami Republican.

Executive Director David Keating called Rubio's reported $340,000 fundraising haul "respectable" but acknowledged "he's got to raise a lot more to make the race something he can win. ... He's not going to compete dollar to dollar with Crist, but he doesn't need to. If if he can get to the $4-$5 million range then I think it's a doable race."

Keating said there's no rush to make a decision on the Florida Senate primary, as the club has to look at races across the country to determine where to target its energy. "We can't do everything we'd like to do, so we want to make sure for our members that we give them the most bang for the buck."

Today's story on Rubio's fundraising is HERE

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