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NRSC also wants to avoid more Todd Akins

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:13:00 +0000

Though Karl Rove has been getting the brunt of the backlash over his hopes to crush Todd Akin-like candidates in primary races, the NRSC is gearing up for a similar purpose. As Roll Call reports, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is working to avoid more "Todd Akin moments" in the next election cycle:

During the past two cycles, flawed candidates such as Akin, the former Missouri congressman who lost a targeted Senate race, helped derail the GOP’s hopes of winning a Senate majority. Costly primaries produced ineffective general-election nominees, costing the NRSC five otherwise-winnable races since 2010.

While candidate control is often beyond the NRSC’s abilities, the committee will ultimately be judged on whether the party can avoid such troubles and pick up the six seats needed for a majority in 2014.

“The campaigns that jumped off message not only infected themselves, they infected all the rest of the campaigns,” Rob Collins, the new executive director of the NRSC, told Roll Call. “So in this age of fractured but continuous, three-dimensional communication, we have to constantly plan for that and train for that and build for that.”

NRSC quietly backed Akin in the end

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:07:00 +0000

After insisting that Todd Akin was on his own in his bid for Senate in Missouri, the National Republican Senatorial Committee quietly sent him a life raft in the final days of the campaign.

Politico reports that the NRSC gave the money to the Missouri Republican Party, which spent it on a last-minute ad buy in support of Akin.

After Akin made his infamous "legitimate rape" comments, national Republicans condemned his remarks and urged him to drop out of the primary, saying they would not support him financially. In September, NRSC Chair John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Kentucky Courier-Journal that the plan hadn't changed and the NRSC wouldn't support Akin. “We have no plans to do so,” he said, adding: “I just think that this is not a winnable race."

“We’re done,” he also told the Hill in September.

Akin gets mysterious influx of campaign money

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:58:00 +0000

With just a few days left in the campaign, Todd Akin is pouring money into a series of ad buys in Missouri, with the help of a surge of cash from the Missouri Republican Party. But there is some speculation that a chunk of that money came from national Republicans, who previously backed away from supporting Akin after his "legitimate rape" comments.

The New York Times reports:

"Nearly a million of those dollars on television ad buys are coming from Mr. Akin’s campaign, while the rest is from outside groups, and there is speculation that organizations that previously distanced themselves from the six-term Congressman could be behind some of the new spending.

The Missouri Republican Party coordinated with the Akin campaign for a $387,000 ad buy, a spokesman for Mr. Akin said, while the campaign itself made a $300,000 purchase two days ago. The spokesman, Rick Tyler, said the Akin campaign planned to make another $600,000 ad buy on Thursday."

At the end of October, the state GOP had $375,000, indicating that it might have gotten some additional help from outside donors.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has repeatedly declined to comment about whether it's paying for the ads, though the RNC said it wasn't them.

NRSC stands behind Mourdock

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is standing by Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock after his comments that a pregnancy resulting from rape "is something that God intended to happen."

Cornyn, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement: "Richard and I, along with millions of Americans – including even Joe Donnelly – believe that life is a gift from God. To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous."

The NRSC has been less forgiving toward Todd Akin, and is still steering clear of him after his comments about "legitimate rape."

Mitt Romney, who is starring in an ad for Mourdock airing around Indiana this week, said he "disagrees" with Mourdock's comments, but so far hasn't shown any sign that he's backing away from his endorsement.

Akin aide: Crossroads, NRSC want McCaskill to win

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:54:00 +0000

Todd Akin may have gotten a bunch of Republicans back into his camp following those "legitimate rape" comments, but according to Akin's campaign, there is something nefarious about the NRSC and Crossroads GPS's reluctance to support him.

“I believed at one time they did want Akin to win, even though they didn’t want to admit it,” Rick Tyler, a senior Akin advisor, told Alex Pappas and Alexis Levinson of the Daily Caller. “I’m convinced now they don’t want Akin to win.”

“They would rather lose this race and give it to McCaskill than have Todd Akin win,” Tyler said. “This has somehow gotten to be personal with them. So they’re willing to throw away the Senate majority. They’re willing to keep Obamacare right where it is.”

Akin: McCaskill was “more ladylike” in ’06

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 18:50:00 +0000

No sooner had mainstream GOP forces started to inch back toward Todd "legitimate rape" Akin when he managed to remind everyone why they backed off in the first place.

Bloomberg reports that at a press conference in Jefferson City, Mo., Akin said that in 2006, when McCaskill beat out Republican Sen. Jim Talent, she “had a confidence and was very much more sort of ladylike."

“In the debate we had Friday, she came out swinging, and I think that’s because she was threatened,” Akin said.

The McCaskill campaign had no comment.

NRSC might help out Akin after all

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Now that they're officially stuck with him, a bunch of Republicans have been, more or less reluctantly, jumping on the Todd "legitimate rape" Akin bandwagon.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is the latest to reconsider its earlier vow to shut Akin out, though last week Sen. John Cornyn, who chairs the Committee, told the Hill that they wouldn't. “We’re done,” Cornyn said.

In a statement Wednesday, Rob Jesmer, executive director of the NRSC, said that they'd "continue to monitor this race," and Akin is a "far more preferable candidate" to Claire McCaskill.

"There is no question that for Missourians who believe we need to stop the reckless Washington spending, rein-in the role of government in people's lives, and finally focus on growing jobs that Todd Akin is a far more preferable candidate than liberal Senator Claire McCaskill," Jesmer said. "As with every Republican Senate candidate, we hope Todd Akin wins in November and we will continue to monitor this race closely in the days ahead."