Victorian Liberal MPs have pooled donations worth nearly $250,000 into a "quarantined" account held by the parliamentary leadership to help buy campaign software used by the Republican Party in the US.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy is signatory to the account, which bypasses the party's traditional election campaign structure.

Matthew Guy is wrong on crime. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The existence of the funds has heightened tensions in the Victorian Liberals, with an internal party brawl over the state presidency already under way as incumbent Michael Kroger is challenged by former Howard minister Peter Reith.

Under the scheme, Liberal MPs elicit donations in their local areas and then make payments to the central pool, with the funds to be allocated where needed most for campaigning.