Club for Growth Targets Republicans After Trade Vote

In an email Monday, the conservative Club for Growth has asked members to help identify potential primary opponents for Republicans who crossed party lines and voted for Waxman-Markey, the so-called "cap and trade" bill which passed 219-212. It would not have passed without Republican support.

The prodigal Republicans identified in the email were:

Bono Mack, Mary (CA-45)
Castle, Mike (DE-AL)
Kirk, Mark (IL-10)
Lance, Leonard (NJ-07)
LoBiondo, Frank (NJ-02)
McHugh, John (NY-23)
Reichert, Dave (WA-08)
Smith, Chris (NJ-04)

The Club for Growth is a fiscally conservative organization, known for its willingness to support conservatives who challenge liberal Republicans in primary campaigns.

Former Congressman Chris Chocola, who now heads The Club, blasted out the following message Monday:

Since Friday, several Club members have been calling and emailing us, asking how the Club's PAC can help defeat these turncoat "Republicans." Well, in politics, it's always easy to find targets for defeat, but what's really hard is finding viable, credible, conservative challengers. If you know of one in any of the districts listed above (except McHugh - he's not running for re-election), please contact us here. We can't guarantee that we'll get involved in any of the races, but we'll do our due diligence. At the end of the day, we not only have to measure the variables in the respective races (money, polling, demographics, media, etc), but we must also weigh those variables against our entire array of possible races. With limited resources, we can only afford to choose the best opportunities for us to make an impact.

The Club is arguably the most successful conservative "outside" group, and their support or opposition can play a significant role in determining who wins or loses Republican primary campaigns. It is unclear whether this solicitation is merely a fundraising ploy, or a legitimate attempt to identify potential Republican challengers. It will be interesting to see how many of these candidates are challenged from the right.