Pat Toomey endorses Mitch McConnell: Why this is important

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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“I support Mitch McConnell and I support his reelection in 2014,” says Sen. Pat Toomey in a release.

Why is this important?

The campaign for Matt Bevin (McConnell’s primary opponent) is being advised by Cold Spark Media, whose partner is former Toomey campaign manager Mark Harris — and whose Vice President is a former Toomey spokesperson who has been doing some “on the record” work for Bevin, named Nachama Soloveichik.

Soloveichik also worked for Toomey at The Club for Growth. Today the influential fiscal group appeared cautiously open to the possibility of backing Bevin.

McConnell worked assiduously to win over Sen. Rand Paul, and he now appears to have won over Toomey. Both were tea party candidates who defeated establishment opponents just a couple years ago, so there support is symbolically very important.

There will likely be more hurdles along the way, but this is exactly what McConnell will need to continue to replicate if he is to survive not just the primary — but also emerge from this strong enough to beat back a tough general election challenge next November.

 

Matt K. Lewis