Republican congressional candidates anxious for a safe and popular national political figure to campaign with appear to have landed just that in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

But with demand extremely high and supply low, it appears the new GOP vice presidential nominee will have to be rationed carefully in the fewer than 60 days before the 2008 election.

Now, with the Republican National Convention over and operatives filtering back to their regular jobs in Washington and around the country, the Palin sweepstakes have begun.

Congressional candidates from all regions are already requesting face-time with Palin, and national Republicans are trying to figure out how to approach the situation.

A spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rebecca Fisher, said the committee has received “significant requests from our Senate campaigns to appear with Palin in their state.”

One Republican source called it a “huge and immediate” response and attributed it to Palin’s role in helping close the enthusiasm gap between the GOP and Democrats.

“There’s a lot of requests being made,” the source said. “But there’s only 58 days until the election, and they’ll be heavily campaigning. The details will have to be worked out.

“We’re in the infancy of that stage right now.”

Congressional campaigns contacted by The Hill were nearly unanimous in saying they would love for Palin to visit their districts. Many had already requested her presence, and most of the rest said they would do so soon.

But they also recognized the reality of having more than 50 potentially competitive races and so little time, not to mention Palin’s primary concern — winning her own race.

Chris Meekins, a spokesman for Maryland 1st district candidate Andy Harris (R), said he was doubtful Palin would visit an uncompetitive state like theirs even though it’s an open seat, but added that he hoped she might make a slight detour from visits to competitive areas nearby in Northern Virginia or southeast Pennsylvania.

“Palin is a great pick for our district,” Meekins said. “We would even welcome her snowmobiling, hunting husband in for an event.”

As it turns out, Palin will join Republican presidential nominee John McCain in Northern Virginia on Wednesday for an event.

The event will be held in Fairfax in retiring Rep. Tom Davis’s (R) district, and another potentially competitive race is nearby, in Rep. Frank Wolf’s (R) district. Wolf and the GOP nominee for Davis’s seat are both planning to attend.

That nominee, businessman Keith Fimian, is planning a “huge presence” at the event, campaign manager Zack Condry said.

He said he would love to get his boss a speaking role alongside Palin, adding that they are both fresh faces.