This morning, the NRCC is hosting a “meet and greet” for its newest batch of unelectable Young Guns. We know it’s a busy morning with Congress back in town and all, so here are your cliff notes about the crew over at Capitol Hill Club today…
NRCC’s Latest Young Guns Highlight Republicans’ Open-Seat Failures
Bruising Republican Open Seat Primaries Leave NRCC Stuck with Unelectable Candidates
Today, the NRCC announced the addition of six candidates running in key open House seats to its “Young Guns” candidate program, making it official that messy Republican primaries have left the NRCC in a weaker position heading into the general election in critical swing districts. The list of candidates is a who’s-who of NRCC embarrassments, including multiple candidates in districts where the committee wanted literally anybody else to get through the GOP primary. The recipe for the NRCC’s latest Young Guns cocktail? Equal parts candidates they didn’t want, candidates who emerged from their primaries significantly worse for wear, with a splash of one of the most scandal-ridden candidates in recent history. Behold:
the “anybody-buts”
- NY-22 – Claudia Tenney: There’s a reason why the NRCC wanted “Anybody But” Claudia Tenney, and put both of her primary opponents in their candidate assistance program. They know that she’s far out of step with the district, with her penchant for personal insults, out of touch positions, and record as a no-show legislator who has missed hundreds of votes in the legislature.
- MI-01 – Jack Bergman: Yet another district where the NRCC put two candidates in the primary on their candidate assistance program, and neither advanced to the general election. Jack Bergman has admitted his plans to retire in Louisiana, and will have to answer for having lobbied for a for-profit school that turned out to be scamming students and veterans.
the “problem primaries”
- FL-18 – Brian Mast: Mast heads into the general election after a brutally messy, crowded GOP primary that forced him to publicly stake out extreme, Tea Party positions, including praising the obstructionist, out-of-touch agenda of former Congressman Allen West, who voters in this district rejected. Mast now faces a general election electorate that he is firmly out of touch with, having signed a pledge to protect tax breaks for outsourcers, committing to defunding Planned Parenthood, and even endorsing Donald Trump.
- WI-08 – Mike Gallagher: Gallagher spent months embroiled in a costly and damaging primary that resulted in his embrace of a partisan, party-line agenda that will surely rankle voters in this independent district. While facing off against Frank Lasee in the primary, Gallagher made damning public statements expressing his support for privatizing Social Security, opposition to raising the minimum wage, and desire to cut taxes for corporations.
the “he did WHATs?”
- MN-02 – Jason Lewis: Lewis emerged from a GOP primary marked by multiple embarrassing recruitment failures for national Republicans, who tried to get him out of the race by promoting other candidates and condemning his many past inflammatory remarks. Unfortunately for the NRCC, more popular and well-known Republicans one-by-one took a pass on running, and they head into the general election with a candidate who has called women “ignorant,” defended Todd Akin’s notorious remarks on “legitimate rape,” and even implied that slavery was okay. It’s not hard to understand why Lewis has been dubbed Minnesota’s “Mini-Trump,” a moniker that is as accurate as it is bad news for Republicans’ chances in this moderate, swing seat.
- AZ-01 – Paul Babeu: The dictionary definition for “scandal-ridden” might as well have a picture of Sheriff Paul Babeu. Local Republicans, the FBI, and even the candidate’s own family are asking questions about Babeu’s history of touting “abusive” and “inhumane” treatment of special needs teens, misusing taxpayer funds, and misleading the public. Republicans not only failed at their goal of making sure Babeu didn’t win this primary, they forced him to spend all of his money and drove his unpopularity up even further, leaving him in a weak position heading into the fall.
“The fact that this laughable group of candidates is the best the NRCC can come up with is proof positive that National Republicans failed to capitalize in key open seats, handing Democrats key opportunities heading into the general election,” said Christie Stephenson of the DCCC. “It’s fitting that the party of Trump’s so-called top-tier House candidates are also extremely out of touch and unelectable.”