Backers of Republican Rep. Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid are working their fundraising magic with prospective Connecticut Senate candidate Peter Schiff.

They’ve rallied around Schiff, a libertarian financier and former Paul presidential adviser, helping him raise $528,000 since announcing in mid-July that he was formally exploring a challenge to incumbent Democrat Christopher J. Dodd. And today they are launching a “money bomb” — the type of one-day online fundraising push that helped Paul net more than $6 million in a 24-hour-period in December 2007 — that Schiff organizers hope will bring in $200,000 more.

Schiff is considering entering the crowded Republican field to take on Dodd, one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in 2010. He is using his fundraising efforts to test his viability as a candidate, telling backers last month that his decision “is largely dependent on the level of early support and contributions I receive from people like you.”