American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the GOP election groups pioneered by former Bush mastermind Karl Rove, were major players in the 2010 midterm elections. Together, they reportedly raised $70 million to attack Democrats, and they disclosed a total of $39.5 million in spending to the Federal Election Commission. For 2012, the groups have solicited the help of notable GOP fundraiser Haley Barbour, the Mississippi governor and former Republican Governors Association chairman, and they've now doubled their combined initial fundraising goal of $120 million to at least $240 million, Peter Stone of iWatchNews reports:

"We see a pathway to at least doubling our earlier projected goal," Steven Law, the president of Crossroads, told iWatch News . "Everyone is going to stretch as far as they can here because we all feel this is the most important election we have ever been involved with."

To help achieve its new goal, the two groups have been talking to some prominent GOP figures, notably Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. The former Republican National Committee chairman has agreed to lend his Midas like rolodex to the Crossroads efforts.

Read the full story at iWatchNews.