Republican Allen West, the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel making a second attempt to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein of Boca Raton, has adopted a different money strategy for his 2010 campaign.

West raised a meager $583,877 for his 2008 race and got 45.3 percent of the vote against Klein, who spent more than $2.3 million.

This time around, West has already raised $543,808 . But so far, West isn’t socking away that money. He has already spent $336,427. More than $230,000 of that figure has gone to direct-mail consultants and services.

West and consultant Ed Brookover say they hope the early expenditures pay off by next fall in the form of a steady revenue stream from contributors around the U.S.

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