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A Republican group raises and spends huge sums of money defending Senator Josh Hawley after being ostracized for the early January attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Why is this important: The Senate Conservative Fund is blocking Hawley’s ideological good faith and filling corporate lost cash with the necessary political and financial backing, helping him inoculate him as he assesses his re-election or possible presidential campaign in 2024.
What is happening: The SCF, a political action committee that supports right-wing Senate candidates, began sending pro-Hawley emails and texts days after the Capitol siege on January 6. The Missourian has been accused of helping fuel it by leading a challenge to certify President Biden’s electoral victory.
- “The young Missouri senator’s decision to oppose the election results showed immense courage. It brought him instant contempt from the media and even a public rebuke from his own leader in the Senate, ”wrote Mary Vought, the group’s executive director in an email.
- Federal Elections Commission filings show the group has paid $ 397,782.53 since Jan. 12 to send texts and emails in support of Hawley.
- Spam blocking service RoboKiller estimates that SCF sent 2 million pro-Hawley text messages this month.
- The SCF has not reported any independent spending in favor or against any other federal political candidate since the second round of Georgia Senate elections on January 5.
The group also raises money directly for Hawley. Vought told Axios he had “pooled” about $ 310,000 for the senator’s campaign committee.
- This fundraiser comes as dozens of corporate PACs vow to donate to Hawley and others who voted against voter certification.
- The sums he is likely to lose, however, are eclipsed by the money the SCF is raising for him. Hawley’s campaign brought in less than $ 200,000 to corporate PACs and business groups throughout 2019 and 2020.
Hawley insists on his Electoral College gambit was not designed to annul the election, simply to express the concerns of its constituents about alleged voting irregularities.
- Nevertheless, the fallout was quick and serious. Fellow Democrats have called for an ethics inquiry, a major publishing house has abandoned Hawley’s planned book, and a new political group has sprouted with the explicit aim of overthrowing him.
Between the lines: Although SCF’s efforts are technically classified as political, they are more aimed at defending him in the short term than securing his re-election.
- “Hawley defends conservative common-sense values,” said Vought, “and judging by the response we see, a lot of Americans agree with him.”
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