Polling for Money: Senate Conservatives Debate Funding Akin

While today is the deadline for Rep. Todd Akin to leave the U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill, his campaign is showing no signs of backing out.

The Akin camp sent an email to supporters today from the Senate Conservative Fund. The group is debating whether to endorse Akin and is asking its members to vote on its endorsement. 

Akin's email asks his supporters to vote in the poll while also asking for contributions to help his campaign reach a goal of $750,000 by Sunday.

Up until now, the Senate Conservative Fund has remained neutral in the Missouri race. 

The email reads as follows:

As you probably know, Congressman Akin won a competitive, three-way Republican primary election in August. We did not endorse a candidate in that race because there were multiple conservatives running who had strong grassroots support. The voters in Missouri chose Todd Akin.

Shortly after Congressman Akin won the primary, he made an unfortunate comment in a news interview. Akin is 100% pro-life and made a mistake in how he explained and defended his position. He quickly apologized.

Within days, national party leaders—including Governor Mitt Romney—began to publicly call on him to withdraw from the race. They argued Akin couldn't win the election and had to drop out to help the party win control of the Senate.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and American Crossroads (co-founded by Karl Rove) announced they would not spend any money helping Akin in Missouri—a decision that discouraged donors across the country from supporting him.

To read the entire email, click here.

The email sends its members to a survey which asks: 

"Knowing that Todd Akin will face Claire McCaskill in November and the race could decide control of the Senate, should the Senate Conservatives Fund endorse Akin and help him raise the support he needs to win? Vote Here" 

Not only does the survey ask about support, it also asks its members how much they would be willing to donate to the campaign.

Do you think a vote should determine an endorsement? Tell us in the comments.