Sen. John Cornyn, Other Republicans Want Money Back from Gov. Charlie Crist

Now that Charlie Crist has left the Republican Party to mount an independent run for Senate, Texas Sen. John Cornyn wants a refund of all the money his political action committee donated to the Florida governor.

Cornyn, who runs the GOP campaign operation for the Senate, expects a number of Republicans to demand money back from Crist because they don't want his independent bid to be financed with party funds, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"People have already asked for their money back and I expect that to continue," Cornyn said Thursday. "I certainly will request the money I donated to his campaign from my leadership PAC back."

The conservative Club for Growth said it planned a campaign to get donors big and small to ask for refunds, The Los Angeles Times reported. The group led a similar effort in 2009 after Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter switched from Republican to Democrat.

Cornyn also said he expects Crist will have a hard time raising money as an independent, especially now that Republicans are lining up behind his opponent, state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Cornyn, formerly an enthusiastic backer of Crist, is among the Republicans who have urged the governor to drop out of the Senate race completely, to avoid boosting the chances of Democrat Kendrick Meek.

Crist, whose fortunes within the GOP have faded in recent months, officially announced in St. Petersburg that he was quitting the Republican Party.