Thread: GOP Senator: I’d Support Sanders Over Cruz In General Election

GOP Senator: I’d Support Sanders Over Cruz In General Election


ALEX PFEIFFER
Reporter
4:59 PM 01/21/2016


North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr told supporters at a private fundraiser that in a hypothetical general election match-up, he’d support Bernie Sanders over Ted Cruz .f The Election Was Between Bernie Sanders & Ted Cruz, Who Would You Vote For?
Burr isn’t the only Republican member of Congress who takes issue with Cruz. New York Rep. Peter King told the Associated Press this week that Cruz is a “fraud” and that he doesn’t, “know of anyone else in Washington, certainly, who gets this opposition from his own people… I’m talking about people as conservative as he is who just can’t stand him.”Cruz has previously drawn ire from fellow Republicans for calling Mitch McConnell a liar on the Senate floor.

Burr is running against a conservative opponent Greg Brannon in his senate primary, and saying he’d support a self-avowed socialist is already coming back to hurt him. Brannon put out a press release titled, “BURR GOES FULL SOCIALIST – THREATENS TO VOTE FOR BERNIE SANDERS OVER CRUZ.”

The AP originally reported Burr’s comments, and while Alex Johnson, Burr’s director of strategic operations, said “It’s completely inaccurate,” the AP is sticking with their reporting.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/21/go...eral-election/

Where's the rest of the story? Sen. Burr has asked for a retraction of the story and has said he never said that.

Burr said, "I will support whoever the GOP nominee is, and AP is trying to create discord where there isn't discord by telling lies." Burr told the AP Ted Cruz would make a great chief executive.

Read the whole story, here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/campaign-tracker-blog/article55867305.html

Thanks for the clarification... this claim is hurting Sen. Burr!

W

Complete story from MW's link. It is interesting that the Daily Caller, owned by Tucker Carlson, would not include the retraction...

JANUARY 21, 2016 3:28 PM
Sen. Richard Burr asks for retraction on report of comments about Ted Cruz


Associated Press story said Burr told supporters he would vote for Bernie Sanders over Cruz
Burr denies report, tweets: ‘I will support whoever the GOP nominee is’
AP says, ‘We stand by our story’

BY JIM MORRILL
jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr on Thursday strongly denied a news report that said he had told people he would vote for Democrat Bernie Sanders over Republican Ted Cruz.

Burr’s aides asked The Associated Press for a retraction. An AP spokesman said the news agency was sticking by its story.



“I will support whoever the GOP nominee is,” Burr tweeted. “@AP is trying to create discord where there isn't discord by telling lies.”

Burr was responding to an AP story by reporter Erica Werner about Cruz’s unpopularity with fellow Republican senators.

The story said, “Cruz has become such a pariah that one of his colleagues, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, told supporters at a campaign fundraiser … that he would vote for liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders for president before Cruz, according to one person who attended the event.

“Burr did not appear to be joking, said the person, who demanded anonymity to discuss the private gathering,” the article stated.

Alex Johnson, Burr’s director of strategic operations, called the report “completely inaccurate.”

“They’re trying to create discord where there’s no discord,” he said. “(Burr) told (the AP) Ted Cruz would make a great chief executive. He’s said time and time again he will support the nominee.”

But AP did not back down.

“As we have told Sen. Burr’s campaign, we stand by our story,” said Paul Colford, AP’s vice president and director of media relations.

Burr faces a March 15 primary against three other Republicans. One, Greg Brannon, wasted little time in responding to the article.

He issued a news release headlined, “Burr goes full Socialist – threatens to vote for Bernie Sanders over Cruz.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee gleefully included the AP story in an email.

Burr consultant Paul Shumaker said the candidate has pledged to support whichever Republican wins the nomination.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...e55867305.html

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...#storylink=cpy

As the late Paul Harvey used to say, "and this is the rest of the story."

I really like Senator Burr, and shame on the AP and whoever was at that gathering who told the AP this story.