McCarthy-backed PAC agrees to not spend in safe GOP open-seat primaries in Speakership concession

Allies of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made a big concession on Wednesday night, as the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a PAC that helps fund Republican House candidates, will not spend in any open-seat primaries in safe GOP districts, opening the door for a key conservative group to back him for Speaker. 

The CLF, which is endorsed by McCarthy, struck the deal with the Club for Growth, which is expected to support McCarthy for the top job assuming an agreeable rules package is struck including provisions the Club for Growth asked for originally. Included is a call for “open rules” on all major rules bills, such as appropriations, that would allow rank-and-file lawmakers to have amendments brought to the floor. 

“This agreement on super PAC’s fulfills a major concern we have pressed for. We understand that Leader McCarthy and Members are working on a rules agreement that will meet the principles we have set out previously.” David McIntosh, the head of the Club for Growth, said in a statement. “Assuming these principles are met, Club for Growth will support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.”

The move could prove crucial in McCarthy’s quest to win the gavel. 

His opponents had called for the group to not back primary candidates in open but safe GOP districts, and the demand had become a point of contention in the Speakership race. 

“Kevin McCarthy has effectively led House Republicans from the Minority to the Majority and we want to see him continue to lead the party so we can pick up seats for the third cycle in a row. CLF will not spend in any open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts and CLF will not grant resources to other super PAC’s to do so,” said Dan Conston, CLF’s president, in a statement.

“CLF has never spent a dollar against a Republican incumbent before and obviously will continue that policy in the future. CLF will continue to support incumbents in primaries as well as challengers in districts that affect the Majority, which proved to be critical to winning the Majority in 2022,” Conston continued.

Such open and GOP-safe primaries are rare, but they can become high-profile. In the 2022 cycle, Rep.-elect Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), who was backed by McCarthy, bested several other candidates for the nomination in Texas’s deep-red 8th Congressional District outside Houston.

According to the CLF, no lawmaker or member’s staff pushed the PAC to make the move, which could help assuage conservatives to back McCarthy’s bid — but how many remains unclear. Twenty conservatives voted on three separate ballots for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). McCarthy cannot lose more than four votes in order to win the Speakership. 

The CLF spent more than $259 million during the 2022 cycle.