Senate

McConnell ‘will be involved’ in Montana Senate GOP primary

by Alexander Bolton - 02/15/24 3:03 PM ET

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) says he will be involved in the Senate Republican primary in Montana to help businessman Tim Sheehy win the GOP nomination — who now faces a challenge from Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) — win the GOP the nomination.

Rosendale, who ran and lost against incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in 2018, announced his candidacy last week, even though former President Trump has endorsed Sheehy and Senate Republican leaders in Washington view Sheehy as a better candidate for the general election.

“We will be involved in the Montana primary,” McConnell told The Hill during an interview in his Capitol office, confirming he will help Sheehy.

He views Montana as one of several promising opportunities to capture Democratic-held seats and thinks Republicans have “a good shot” to win back the Senate majority.

McConnell said he doesn’t plan to get involved in the competitive Republican primary contest to challenge Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in Ohio.

And he praised Army veteran Sam Brown, who is running in Nevada’s Senate Republican primary against former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant, as a “good candidate.”

McConnell said the Nevada primary is on his “watch list.”

“In the end, you spend the resources where you think you can win, and Nevada has been a pretty close, competitive state,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber after a bipartisan group of senators released a highly anticipated bill that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Senate Republicans have been divided on the bill, but McConnell is committed to the measure. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

McConnell’s support for Sheehy may signal that two politically aligned outside groups, the Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, could spend resources to help him win the nomination.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) and its umbrella group, American Crossroads, have already reserved nearly $50 million for the general election race in Montana.

SLF, a super PAC, has reserved $24.6 million in airtime in statewide TV, while America Crossroads has reserved $23.3 million. The ads are scheduled to air starting on Sept. 3 and go through Election Day.

Sheehy has the support of National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who last week criticized Rosendale for jumping into the race.

“It’s unfortunate that rather than building seniority for our great state in the House, Matt is choosing to abandon his seat and create a divisive primary,” Daines said in a statement. “Tim Sheehy has my full support because he is the best candidate to take on Jon Tester.”

Tester beat Rosendale, 50.3 percent to 46.8 percent, in 2018.

The NRSC hasn’t yet spent much money in the primary, though it has run a joint television ad with Sheehy’s campaign accusing Tester of “rubberstamping” President Biden’s national security agenda.

In addition, Sheehy has the support of a well-funded super PAC dedicated to the Montana Senate race.

McConnell also backs West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), whom he worked hard to recruit for a Senate run against retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D), over Rep. Alex Mooney (R) in the West Virginia Senate Republican primary.

“I flew over and met him and Baby Dog before the ’22 election and spent a lot of time trying to convince him to run, and I think that’s an overwhelming likelihood of a pickup,” he said, referring to Justice and his famous pet bulldog, who travels everywhere with the governor.

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But McConnell says he doesn’t plan to step into the Ohio Senate primary.

“I think we will not be involved in the Ohio primary,” he said.

A Senate Republican strategist said any of the three Republicans running in Ohio is capable of beating Brown in the general election.

McConnell thinks Republicans have good chances to win in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is retiring.

He praised hedge fund CEO David McCormick, who is running against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), as a “great candidate,” and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) as a “superb candidate” in the Maryland Senate race.

McConnell said last week that he and his political team recruited Hogan and touted his entry into the race as a big development that would force the Democrats to play defense in a blue state.

“I enjoyed conversations we’ve had with Larry over the last week. He’s extraordinarily popular. To be competitive in a blue state like that is quite a boost for us,” he told The Hill last week.