Kevin McCarthy's road to the gavel was not easy. After days of negotiations among the most conservative members of Congress and some fifteen votes, the California Republican won the Speaker of the House of Representatives title. Looking ahead to the 2024 elections, one of the most important political organizations plans to help reelect these twenty legislators who were revealed in January.
It turns out that Club for Growth, dedicated to electing Republicans who seek to lower taxes and balance the budget, among other things, is preparing a $20 million fund dubbed The Patriot 20, in reference to the number of names on it.
David McIntosh, the group's president, stated that "making our financial commitment public may serve as an effective deterrent to some potential challengers" while adding that "moderate donors and candidates seeking to settle scores should save their money because we are prepared to win at all costs."
Specifically, the group's goal is to reelect the five members of this group who are most important to Capitol Hill; Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
In turn, they also plan to make an additional effort for the three they consider most vulnerable at the polls, Boebert herself, Ana Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Scott Perry (R-PA). In the latter's case, he will again face his 2022 rival who thirsts for revenge, Adam Frisch. As announced, he already raised $2.6 million since February 2023.
McIntosh says these legislators are critical "to advancing conservative priorities and establishing a more transparent and accountable legislative process in the House during the January chairmanship negotiations."
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the lower house, 221 to 212 members of Congress.
This maneuver by the Club for Growth targets the two elections that these legislators face, the primaries and general elections. It is expected that each and every one of them will have challengers in the primaries who will try to run them out of the competition, although none has yet emerged strongly enough to make them uncomfortable.
The House Republican Leadership, led by McCarthy and Steve Scalise, does not plan to meddle in the Republican primaries across the country.
