With an eye on the 2024 general election where the fate of the White House and both chambers of Congress will be at stake, high-ranking Republicans fear the return of the handful of Donald Trump-endorsed candidates who had a hand in keeping the party from taking the Senate in 2022 and put a damper on the so-called GOP "red wave" that failed to materialize.
According to a report from Politico, highly controversial 2022 GOP candidates including Arizona's Kari Lake and Blake Masters, and Pennsylvania's Doug Mastriano are among those who are making rumblings at another run.
Should they run, that could crowd out more electable candidates in the primaries -- and that has senior party officials considering how to put their fingers on the scale to make sure they are not stuck with them in November.
According to a report from Politico's Ally Mutnick and Marianne Levine, there is a major debate going on in the GOP hierarchy about what to do.
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"After a midterm cycle that saw underfunded and deeply conservative nominees blow winnable races across the country, the new regime at the National Republican Senatorial Committee is reversing its policy of neutrality and will now selectively intervene to pick winners in open GOP primaries," they reported. "But in the House, where Republicans are protecting a paper-thin majority, the campaign committee will remain largely hands-off."
"The split over strategy comes at a critical juncture for the GOP: Some of the party’s most controversial losers from 2022 are launching campaigns or considering running in 2024. That includes Blake Masters and Kari Lake in Arizona, J.R. Majewski in Ohio and Joe Kent in Washington," the report adds. "The crop of failed candidates mulling comebacks is causing headaches for party operatives."
“You can’t stop people who want to run, it’s a free country,” stated Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “Part of it is recruiting good candidates, too, and not just leaving yourself with the luck of the draw.”
Moderate Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) expressed dismay that House GOP leaders are taking a hands-off approach.
"We need to have an eye on, ‘How do you win the general?’ And we’ve got to be careful,” he claimed.
Dan Conston, the president of the powerful Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC added, "In battleground districts, primaries are all about electability. Swing voters have proven they are incredibly discerning, and candidate quality can make or break us.”
You can read more here.
