Wil R. Cardon, President and CEO of the Cardon Group, a real estate investment firm, is considering running as a Republican for Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R) soon to be vacant seat.

The only declared candidate in the race is Congressman Jeff Flake, who has had a solid first quarter fundraising effort and appears to be in a very strong position.

Interestingly enough, Cardon has served on Jeff Flake’s Finance Committee and has donated most of Flake’s campaigns.

National Journal reports:

Arizona GOP consultant Jason Rose, who is a friend of Cardon and whose public relations firm counts him as a client, confirmed that Cardon is giving serious consideration to running.

“He’s giving it a very strong look,” Rose said. “He would have an ability to make a significant contribution to the race. He’s in the process of talking to a lot of different people.”

A knowledgeable Arizona GOP source independently confirmed that Cardon is looking at the race, and said that given his ability to self-fund, he would be a candidate to watch if he decides to run.

If Cardon decides to run, he will likely have an uphill battle against Flake. Besides Flake’s national notoriety and political fundraising strength, self-funded candidates have found it difficult to mount successful campaigns. As National Journal states:

Cardon would only be the latest self-funder to pursue a Senate campaign if he runs. Last cycle, self-funders found mixed results in statewide races: Linda McMahon (R) and Meg Whitman (R) won the GOP nominations in statewide races in Connecticut and California, respectively, but ultimately lost general election contests despite spending huge sums of money. In New Hampshire, Bill Binnie (R) spent a lot on the Senate race, only to see his support decline rapidly toward the end of the primary. Jeff Greene (D) did not even make it out of the Democratic primary in Florida. Now-Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) found success in 2010, as did now-Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R).

Cardon’s support for Flake will make it difficult for him to differentiate himself. This will be worth watching.