Mccarthy eyes speaker role after raising record $500m war chest
The Republican set to replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House of Representatives raised a war chest of about $500million (£440m) for the midterm elections.
Kevin Mccarthy, 57, the Republican leader in the House, eclipsed previous fundraising records with the haul, which has been used to bombard the airwaves with adverts in key states.
It has helped Republican candidates become competitive in what were previously safe Democrat seats in states such as California, Oregon, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
The adverts have centred on the economy and inflation, which polls show is by far the most important issue for voters, and rising crime. Republicans have raised far more than the Democrats in what are by far the most expensive midterm elections ever held. Together, both parties spent more than $16billion on their political operations. A combined $250million was spent on adverts in Georgia, and over $200million in Pennsylvania.
Mr Mccarthy’s fundraising has taken him to nearly 40 states, campaigning for 172 days so far this year. In Washington, he has also worked to keep disparate Republican elements of the House from turning on each other ahead of election day. When he launched the party’s agenda for the midterms – called the “Commitment to America” – Mr Mccarthy chose to sit Marjorie Taylor Greene directly behind him.
The congresswoman is the de facto representative of Donald Trump in the House. Ms Greene had previously been regarded as a pariah by the party leadership, but Mr Mccarthy also took her with him on a trip to the Mexico border to highlight the crisis of illegal immigration.
Mr Mccarthy has rejected calls from Ms Greene to impeach Joe Biden in the next Congress. But he has indicated he will give concessions to Ms Greene and her allies, of whom she is expected to have more after the midterms. He has already suggested that there will be no “blank cheque” for military aid to Ukraine. Ms Greene has said she expects Mr Mccarthy to give her a “lot of power and a lot of leeway” in the new Congress, warning that if he does not, the “Trump base” will be “very unhappy about it”.
Democrats currently have a majority of five in the 435-seat House.
According to a Real Clear Politics analysis of all recent midterm polls, 227 seats are safely Republican, 174 safely Democrat and 34 are rated “toss-ups”.
Mr Mccarthy said increasing the current 212 Republican seats by more than 20 would constitute a “red wave”.
Control of the House means Republicans will head its committees and can launch oversight investigations into the Biden administration.
That could include inquiries into the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the financial dealings of Mr Biden’s son Hunter.
Mr Mccarthy has vowed to use a Republican legislative majority to combat inflation and crime, and increase security at the border.
He also wants to force Mr Biden into accepting spending cuts, and to repeal the president’s plan to expand the Internal Revenue Service.
In a lengthy interview with CNN on the eve of the midterms, Mr Mccarthy said: “The first thing you’ll see is a bill to control the border. You’ve had almost two million people just this year alone coming across.”