Republicans are fearful about the damage former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon and his allies will inflict on GOP incumbents seeking reelection in the 2018 midterms.
Bannon has been meeting with insurgent conservative candidates and is committed to making Breitbart News, which he returned to run after leaving the White House in August, a major player in the Republican primaries against candidates he views as insufficiently loyal to President Trump.
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Bannon is also in discussions with the pro-Trump outside group Great America PAC – which has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars in the last two years — about acting as his political arm in targeting Republicans seeking reelection in both the House and the Senate.
Mainstream Republicans are fretting over the havoc those forces could unleash as they seek to protect their majorities.
They’re worried that money raised by Great America, coupled with potentially significant investments in primary races from the Mercer family, which owns a portion of Breitbart, could sink one or two incumbents in primaries and hobble others enough that they lose winnable general election races to Democrats.
“The most important thing Republicans can do next year is expand our Senate majority by defeating vulnerable Democrats,” said Chris Pack, a spokesman for the Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote GOP senator to try to reverse requirement that Pentagon remove Confederate names from bases No, ‘blue states’ do not bail out ‘red states’ MORE (R-Ky.) and aims to reelect incumbent Republicans.
“If we have to divert resources to defeat substandard candidates in GOP primaries, that will obviously make it harder for us to accomplish that goal.”
Breitbart has been running daily stories pumping former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in Alabama, who is leading incumbent Sen. Luther StrangeLuther Johnson StrangeThe biggest political upsets of the decade State ‘certificate of need’ laws need to go GOP frets over nightmare scenario for Senate primaries MORE in the GOP primary runoff there to serve the rest of Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsMcCabe, Rosenstein spar over Russia probe Rosenstein takes fire from Republicans in heated testimony Rosenstein defends Mueller appointment, role on surveillance warrants MORE’s Senate term.
Bannon has spoken in-person with Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian, who is challenging Sen. Dean HellerDean Arthur HellerOn The Trail: Democrats plan to hammer Trump on Social Security, Medicare Lobbying World Democrats spend big to put Senate in play MORE (R) in Nevada. He has also met with former state Sen. Chris McDaniel, the Tea Party favorite in Mississippi, who is expected to jump into the race against Sen. Roger WickerRoger Frederick WickerPrivate lawsuits are a necessary expedient in privacy legislation Bottom line GOP faces internal conflicts on fifth coronavirus bill MORE (R).
In Arizona, the patriarch of the Mercer family, billionaire GOP donor Robert Mercer, has poured $300,000 into a group supporting former state Sen. Kelli Ward (R) against Sen. Jeff FlakeJeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeGOP lawmakers stick to Trump amid new criticism Kelly holds double-digit lead over McSally in Arizona: poll Trump asserts his power over Republicans MORE (R). Several operatives from Great America PAC have also peeled off to join Ward’s campaign.
Bannon has had several conversations about primaries strategy with GOP operatives at Great America PAC, which counts Trump supporters like former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) as chairmen.
Andrew Surabian, Bannon’s political adviser, left the White House recently to join the group.
A source familiar with Great America’s plans says the conversations with Bannon are only in the preliminary stage but that they’re almost certain to involve the primaries in Alabama, Arizona and Nevada, where incumbent Sens. Strange, Flake and Heller are fighting for their political lives.
Great America is also scouting an opportunity in Tennessee, where Sen. Bob CorkerRobert (Bob) Phillips CorkerGOP lawmakers stick to Trump amid new criticism Trump asserts his power over Republicans Romney is only GOP senator not on new White House coronavirus task force MORE (R-Tenn.) has criticized Trump and has not committed to seeking reelection. There is hope among some Bannon allies that Rep. Marsha BlackburnMarsha BlackburnGOP senators introduce resolution opposing calls to defund the police GOP senators dodge on treatment of White House protesters Five things to know about Trump’s legal power under the Insurrection Act MORE (R) will run for Corker’s seat, either as a primary challenger or if he steps aside.
“If [GOP incumbents] think they can get away with cheap shots at Trump to score points with the media or with other lawmakers, they’ll quickly learn that there are consequences,” said one operative with knowledge of the group’s deliberations. “That’s the easiest way to get on our radar.”
Strategists with ties to the group concede that Bannon and Great America’s goals will not always align.
Bannon is eager to meet with virtually any challenger looking to take on an incumbent, while some at Great America are hesitant even to get involved in the Nevada race over fears that whichever candidate wins the primary will emerge too damaged for a general election race to defend what’s the most vulnerable Republican-held Senate seat on the ballot.
But for the most part, Bannon and Great America are on the same page and committed to defeating incumbents they believe don’t have Trump’s back — both in the House and in the Senate.
“You have to have people who support the president’s agenda,” said one operative aligned with Great America. “I’ve been trying to elect Republicans my whole life and I won’t just wholesale look to knock them out, but some of these members have just decided that they’re not going to back Trump.”
Some Republicans are frustrated by what they view as Bannon’s indiscriminate approach. Some, like Flake, have been openly hostile to Trump. But supporters of other senators, like Wicker in Mississippi, believe their only crime is running as an incumbent.
“That’s the problem with Bannon’s logic,” said Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based strategist who managed Wicker’s first Senate campaign in 2008. “They don’t care if you vote with Trump 99.9 percent of the time or 58.9 percent of the time. If they don’t think you’re really with him, they want to beat you.”
Republicans interviewed by The Hill aren’t panicking yet about the primary challengers triumphing over the incumbents. Ward in Arizona, Tarkanian in Nevada and McDaniel in Mississippi have all run before and lost.
Some Republicans noted that Bannon doesn’t always deliver on his threats and that the Mercers have so far only opened their wallets for Ward. They’re more concerned about the chaos these groups could sow in the party.
“They don’t view their success in terms of wins or losses,” said one former hill aide with close ties to GOP leadership. “They’re happy just creating problems for people. It’s a game to them and it’s a disservice to the party. The goal should be to influence policy and not just create confusion and internal strife among Republicans. If I were [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck SchumerChuck SchumerOvernight Health Care: US showing signs of retreat in battle against COVID-19 | Regeneron begins clinical trials of potential coronavirus antibody treatment | CMS warns nursing homes against seizing residents’ stimulus checks Schumer requests briefing with White House coronavirus task force as cases rise Schumer on Trump’s tweet about 75-year-old protester: He ‘should go back to hiding in the bunker’ MORE, I’d be the first to write a check to that super PAC. Republicans should be very concerned.”
But others see the challengers represent a true primary threat to the incumbents. They say they will need money to beat back the challengers and precise political maneuvering to outlast them.
“Certainly they will make it more difficult for Republicans to win in November and hold the majority in 2018,” Barbour said. “That’s politics and Bannon and his groups are free to do that, but at some point you’d hope the Republican National Committee or the White House would step in and say we can’t stand for this anymore.”
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