Retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness announced his candidacy this week for Senate in Louisiana, and now the PAC formerly associated with Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint is considering supporting him.

The Senate Conservatives Fund emailed supporters on Wednesday highlighting Maness and making clear that it won’t be supporting Rep. Bill Cassidy, the leading Republican in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu.

“We still need to vet Col. Maness to see if he’s someone SCF can support, but we’re excited about his potential,” SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins wrote. “It’s encouraging to see people run for office who aren’t career politicians and who aren’t part to the political establishment.”

With an 80 percent score in the Club for Growth’s 2012 scorecard, it’s unlikely the club’s political action committee will back Cassidy either.

Maness is a 32-year Air Force veteran whose career included service in combat, in the Pentagon and at Air Force Global Strike Command in Bossier City, La. His online résumé states that Maness is currently the director of safety and training at Entergy Services Inc. in the New Orleans area.

Cassidy starts the primary with a heavy fundraising edge. He raised $525,000 in the first quarter and ended March with $2.5 million in cash on hand.