Thread: Tensions Rising Between DeMint, GOP Leadership

Tensions Rising Between DeMint, GOP Leadership
By Dan Friedman
May 16, 2012 | 3:03 PM



Republican Sen. Mike Johanns has a message for his GOP colleague Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and an outside group that spent big in Tuesday's Republican Senate primary in Johanns' home state of Nebraska: You don't know what you're doing.

"I think you have to be very careful entering into the political fray in areas quite honestly you don't understand," Johanns said Wednesday when asked if there was a message for DeMint, whose Senate Conservatives Fund PAC spent $1.4 million in an failed effort on behalf of state Treasurer Don Stenberg in Tuesday's primary.

Johanns said spending by DeMint's PAC on positive ads for Stenberg -- along with about $700,000 spent by the Club for Growth attacking frontrunning Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning -- helped state Rep. Deb Fischer win the nomination by hurting both Stenberg and Bruning. That view was echoed privately by GOP operatives with ties to Republican Congressional leadership.

The fight over the Nebraska Senate primary is highlighting longstanding animosities between senior Senate Republicans, particularly Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and DeMint. The tension continues to simmer, despite suggestions by both DeMint's camp and the NRSC that tensions have declined since 2010 when DeMint's backing of several Tea Party candidates against party favorites left top Republicans livid.

Johanns, a popular former Nebraska governor, said he believed Stenberg's natural base in the primary was about 35 percent. "And what happened is the groups hurt him. He's out there beating his brains out; he's working hard, he's won statewide elections.. [but] once they start throwing dirt," it hurt their own candidate, said Johanns. Stenberg finished a distant third with less than 19 percent.

Johanns said he shared that view with DeMint on Tuesday.

"The question I kept getting asked is why would an individual senator spend all this money out here," Johanns said. "What's in it for him? And it just created a level of concern and suspicion and at the end of the day it was a bad deal for a really good guy."

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, had a similar take. "People don't necessarily appreciate outsiders trying to dictate who the primary selection is," said Cornyn. "I've learned that at the NRSC and I think some of the various groups who participated in this election could learn that lesson now too."

GOP senators and aides were quick to note even before Tuesday's result that DeMint's spending appeared to have done little for Stenberg.

"This one will leave a mark for anyone who has been peddling the conservative kingmaker bit," one senior GOP campaign operative said.

Meanwhile, the NRSC and Cornyn argue that Fischer may be their best candidate against former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb.,

A similar divide will play out in the May 29 Texas Senate GOP primary, where DeMint's PAC and the Club for Growth are among conservatives backing former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is considered the frontrunner. Republicans argue either GOP candidate can cruise to the nomination.



Tensions Rising Between DeMint, GOP Leadership - Hotline On Call - Hotline On Call

This Insurgent Republican Capped An Incredible Upset With A Comeback Victory In The Nebraska Senate Primary
Brett LoGiurato | May 16, 2012, 9:15 AM | 1,322 | 13


Deb Fischer

Deb Fischer Campaign
Earlier we told you about the upset in the making in Nebraska's Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat. And now, that upset is complete.

Deb Fischer's impressive comeback is complete. The race was called shortly before midnight, with Fischer receiving about 40 percent of the vote to Attorney General Jon Bruning's 36 percent. Don Stenberg, the Nebraska state treasurer, finished way behind at 19 percent. Now, Fischer will take on former Sen. Bob Kerrey, the Democratic nomination, for the right to take over retiring Sen. Ben Nelson's post.

This might be spun as a victory for the tea party — in fact, there was an unusual amount of tea party infighting in this race when compared with Richard Mourdock's resounding victory over Dick Lugar last week in Indiana. Public Policy Polling pointed out that you shouldn't buy the tea party spin — Bruning still captured most of the tea party vote in polls leading up to the election.

Nevertheless, Republicans already are showing signs that the tough primary didn't do any lasting damage, and they are prepared to rally around Fischer.

Jim DeMint Nebraska

Twitter

What this election was really about was Fischer sneaking in after a grueling, largely negative campaign between Bruning and Stenberg, not about Sarah Palin's late endorsement and robocalls. This included a shouting match over Stenberg following Bruning's 14-year-old daughter on Twitter.

Bruning got endorsements from tea party and evangelical conservative favorites Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, who made a furious last-minute push Tuesday for Bruning. They were joined officially by the Tea Party Express, which was one of the tea party groups that helped organize support to propel the insurgent Mourdock to oust the 36-year Sen. Lugar in Indiana last week.

Just last week, Sal Russo, told Business Insider after Mourdock's win that with Bruning, the tea party had another great shot in a week.

Meanwhile, Stenberg built up endorsements from tea party favorites Sens. Rand Paul and Jim DeMint (in the tweet above), as well as the tea party group Freedom Works.

And as the negative campaigning took its toll, that left enough room for Fischer, whose net favorability ratings jumped 45 points since March while Bruning suffered a 27-point net loss.



Read more: Nebraska Senate Race 2012: Deb Fischer Beats Jim Bruning, Stenberg - Business Insider