Following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy, a new report from The Messenger finds that MI-07 Republican candidate Tom Barrett recently deleted a Twitter post touting the former Speaker’s endorsement.
Before McCarthy’s demise, Barrett had “proudly welcomed then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Michigan” and “touted his endorsement.” Last cycle, he took nearly $27,000 from McCarthy and his PACs and was named to McCarthy’s “Young Guns” program.
“Republican Tom Barrett, the congressional candidate running to represent central Michigan in one of the most contested House races in the country, proudly welcomed then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Michigan in early September and touted his endorsement later in the month.”
“One historic ouster of McCarthy as speaker later, however, Barrett was less eager to tout McCarthy’s support, deleting his X post touting the endorsement.”
“‘Join Speaker McCarthy in support of Tom Barrett,’ the candidate posted on September 28. ‘Donate today.’The post included an image of McCarthy with text that said: ‘Speaker McCarthy endorses Tom Barrett.’”
“McCarthy was ousted from the speaker’s post on Oct. 3 by a conservative faction in his own party. Barrett then seemingly deleted the post, which X now says ‘has been deleted.’”
“Barrett’s campaign did not respond to The Messenger’s questions about his support of McCarthy or the deletion. A top consultant to the Republican, when asked about why the endorsement post was deleted, said, ‘He’s not speaker anymore.’”
“Barrett, a United States Army veteran and former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and state senate, is a top Republican recruit. He challenged, but lost, to Democrat incumbent Rep. Elissa Slotkin in 2022 in what was one of the most expensive House campaigns of the cycle. Slotkin is now running for Senate, however, leaving her district – which backed former President Donald Trump in 2016 but narrowly supported Biden in 2020 – open. Democrat Curtis Hertel, a former state senator, is running for the congressional seat, which all handicappers rate as a tossup.”
“But the about-face from Barrett exemplifies how McCarthy’s ouster could complicate life for a number of frontline Republican members and candidates who had relied on the speaker for fundraising and support. McCarthy has long been a prolific fundraiser and brought that skill to the speaker’s office. He raised considerable sums for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the group that spends millions to protect and elect House Republicans, and often donated money directly to these top candidates.”
“The Messenger highlighted this dynamic on Tuesday, especially with members like Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who is running for reelection in a district President Joe Biden carried in 2020. Bacon had received over $300,000 from McCarthy and PACs affiliated with the former speaker throughout his four-term career, leaning on the Speaker for that financial support. Bacon is again running against Tony Vargas, a Nebraska state senator, who nearly defeated him in 2022.”
“Barrett is in that same position. The Republican was endorsed by the Congressional Leadership Fund, an entity closely aligned with McCarthy during his time as speaker. The Republican campaign committee, another entity largely under the Republican leader’s purview, also named Barrett to their ‘Young Guns’ program. And Barrett has already accepted nearly $27,000 from McCarthy and his affiliated political groups, a number that will surely go up given the competitiveness of the Republican’s race.”
“This is not the first time Barrett has scrubbed or deleted a post to change a position. CNN reported ahead of the 2022 midterms that the Republican, who has touted himself as ‘100% pro-life – no exceptions,’ removed language from his website that said he would ‘always work to protect life from conception.’”
“Because Republicans in the House currently have only a slim majority, every House race in 2024 will be key to determining who controls the legislative body. Democrats have specifically targeted the 18 Republicans who represent a district that President Joe Biden won in 2020, many of which are in New York and California. Republicans have honed in on holding those districts and winning ones like the seat Barrett in Michigan is vying to take.”
