The Kingmaker: Sen. Jim DeMint’s endorsements help grassroots candidates, but could it help him down the road too?

His ardent support of candidates not backed by the establishment has led to speculation that DeMint could be a competitor to Sen. Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, for Republican leader. But during the conference call Wednesday with Johnson, DeMint flat-out said he’s not going to run for a leadership spot when The Daily Caller brought up the topic.

“What we really need up here is a group of Republican senators who are gonna pull our leadership in the right direction, and Ron, I think that’s what you can help us do,” DeMint said.

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