The “Proxy War” Looming in MT-SEN GOP Primary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

CONTACT
monica@mtdems.org

ABC News: “Republican primary voters don't like to be told who to vote for by people in D.C.,” GOP staffer concedes

Helena, MT – The Republican primary for Montana’s U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be a bruising, expensive proxy war between two warring sides of the GOP: establishment Republicans and ultra-conservative interest groups. 

New reporting from ABC News previews how Montana could be a major battlefront between Mitch McConnell’s PAC and conservative group Club For Growth, which has already signaled they’ll be backing Matt Rosendale.

Read more: 

ABC News: How looming 'proxy war' in 2024 Republican primaries could define key races nationwide
By Tal Axelrod
May 2, 2023

• As the 2024 election cycle takes very early shape, GOP strategists are predicting that an expensive and potentially even race-deciding "proxy war" could break out in various states between two major political groups, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) and the Club for Growth.
   

• Ultimately, primary voters pick their party's nominee, not outside groups. But those same outside groups can be influential in helping with ads and messaging for preferred candidates as well as with attacks on their opponents.
   

• In 2022, the SLF, allied with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, prized electability above all else. But groups like the Club for Growth emphasized conservative bona fides instead.
   

• "I think in some states, it could become a major proxy war," said one GOP strategist working on Senate races.
   

• If so, expect major fronts in that battle to open in Montana and West Virginia.
   

• The NRSC and SLF are focusing on wealthy potential self-funders and are eyeing either veteran and businessman Tim Sheehy or state Attorney General Austin Knudsen in Montana. 
   

• The Club for Growth, meanwhile, is a longtime backer of Rep. Matt Rosendale, who could run against Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
   

• The organization put out a memo that contended the SLF had "abandoned conservatives" in 2022 and claimed, "the best path to a Republican majority is through the Club for Growth PAC endorsed candidates."
   

• Interviews with leaders and strategists on both sides of the divide lamented the prospects of bloody primaries fueled by each camp's beefy war chests. But it appeared that no amount of dread could force cooperation.
   

• "In my experience, Republican primary voters don't like to be told who to vote for by people in D.C.," said one 2022 NRSC staffer, noting the recruiting efforts around Justice and Sheehy.

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