Allegations claiming that the House Freedom Caucus is working with Club for Growth Super-PAC are gaining traction, according to reports.
Club for Growth allegedly spent at least $3.7 million so far funding primary Republican primary challengers that have pledged to support the House Freedom Caucus, reports Politico. The biggest surprise, according to the report, is the Club’s support of Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican who earned a low internal scorecard rating with the Club at 63 percent. The Club spent over $600,000 on the candidate.
The Club’s spending goes beyond normal funding for similar groups, Politico reports. The House Freedom Caucus backs members financially supported by the Club.
An unnamed Club staffer told a Republican staffer that the Club planned to back whoever the Caucus supported, Politico reports.
“I was a Club-endorsed candidate when I first ran for Congress. I had to go through a very thorough interview by a committee of Club members at their office … to make sure I agreed with their issues,” Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia told Politico. “Now I’m told that the Club is taking a different approach. Now all a candidate has to do is be endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan.”
Rep. Jim Jordan’s press office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Club is “spending their members’ money on candidates that don’t necessarily line up with their core principles on immigration or free trade. I don’t understand the coordination and I would think it would be a surprise to Club members,” Westmoreland added.
Club for Growth spokesman Doug Sachtleben told Politico that the group wasn’t “coordinating” with the Freedom Caucus, explaining that the two groups have very similar viewpoints, so it is natural that the Club supports congressional candidates who are likely to join the Freedom Caucus.
“As we’ve watched the Freedom Caucus do its thing, we’ve been impressed with Jordan’s leadership and the issues they’ve stood on,” Sachtleben said. “It’s not so much that we’re tied at the hip with the Freedom Caucus, but we love what they’re doing, and we’re looking for members so that we can get a majority of economic conservatives within the majority of Republicans so they can have a more influential role.”
Overall, the Club for Growth has spent $14,752,891 on Federal races during the 2016 election season, according to open secrets, the majority of which has been against Republicans. In House races, Florida Rep. Warren Davidson received the lion’s share of positive spending, while North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers was the subject of the greatest amount of opposition spending.
The Club for Growth also spent $7,054,203 against Republican nominee Donald Trump, as well as $467,226 against John Kasich, and $227,809 against Jeb Bush.
The Club for Growth lost a localized battle alongside Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity against the national Chamber of Commerce in Kansas. The Club backed Freedom Caucus member Tim Huelskamp, who made a stand against then Speaker of the House John Boehner.
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