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Akin said he was thankful and "very enthusiastic" about winning the group's support. "I think it's logical-I am a conservative, they're conservatives, I think it's a common-sense type of thing," Akin said. The fund has gained prominence in recent years with the aid of Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a favorite among tea party activists. Among other things, the Senate Conservatives Fund supports a ban on congressional spending earmarks, which use legislation to direct particular amounts of money to specific entities in a particular state or congressional district. Akin has used earmarks in the past to direct funding to such things as highway projects and military armor, although he and Matt Hoskins, the executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund, both have said Akin supports the group's ban on earmarks. Akin said Thursday that he's against amendments that are slipped into bills at the last moment that direct money to specific projects, particularly if joint House and Senate conference committees add items that weren't in versions that originally passed the chambers. But he added: "Don't take the definition (of earmark) so broadly that the members of Congress don't have any input into the budget process." The aid from the Senate Conservatives Fund follows Akin's endorsement Wednesday by DeMint and former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, whose Patriot Voices political action committee said it was contributing money to Akin and hiring staff to work in Missouri. The Freedom's Defense Fund, which backs conservative candidates, also said earlier this week that it planned a $250,000 advertising campaign benefiting Akin. But Akin will need even more outside help to keep pace with Democratic-leaning groups supporting McCaskill. Emily's List and the Service Employees International Union issued a joint statement Thursday saying they had bought $1 million in ads in support of McCaskill to run in the state's largest TV markets. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which already has spent about $1 million on TV ads in Missouri, has reserved $4.3 million of additional advertising to begin running Oct. 9.
[Associated
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