The candidate quality issue that has frustrated GOP Leader Mitch McConnell in U.S. Senate races is also impacting the GOP in congressional races as the party heads into November with far-right extremists.
"As the midterm election season enters a critical final phase, some far-right Republicans are facing headwinds in congressional races that once appeared to be prime opportunities for the party to win seats, complicating the plans of Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader who aspires to be speaker, and fueling Democratic hopes of cutting their losses in their fight to retain control of the House," The New York Times reported Saturday.
With three vacant seats, Democrats currently have an 8-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
"Some of the candidates have risen despite the efforts of Mr. McCarthy, the California Republican who spent freely to defeat them in primaries and toiled to strike a balance between courting the mainstream and making peace with the ascendant extremists in his party’s ranks. Mr. McCarthy now faces possible losses in competitive districts — or the prospect of adding to the list of hard-right lawmakers in his conference who may be difficult to control if he becomes the House speaker next year," the newspaper reported. "The situation underscores the growing influence of extremists styling themselves in the image of former President Donald J. Trump, and how the Republican Party’s core supporters continue to gravitate to such figures."
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The newspaper noted difficulties facing Republican Karoline Leavitt as she challenges Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire's first district. There was also a similar dynamic with Republican Sandy Smith in North Carolina's first district and Steve Wells in New York's twenty-second district. In all three races, McCarthy's Congressional Leadership Fund backed other Republicans in the primary.
The newspaper noted, "contests in which the minority leader and other top Republicans failed to block more incendiary candidates reflect the enduring influence of the far right and the challenge that Mr. McCarthy is likely to face should he succeed in winning back the majority. In a very narrow battlefield, even a handful of losses could make the difference between an operational majority and an utterly dysfunctional House."
Read the full report.
