The GOPAC Newsletter

News of Interest

Which Republican presidential candidate will be next to drop out of the
2024 GOP nomination race?

First Suarez, now Hurd. Which Republican presidential candidate will be
next to suspend their 2024 White House Campaign?

Fox News | Paul Steinhauser

October 11, 2023

A culling of the field is underway in the 2024 Republican presidential
nomination race.

With the thresholds to qualify for the next GOP presidential debate rising,
crucial fundraising reports from the campaigns due in the coming days, and
facing upcoming filing deadlines for the first two primaries, the still
relatively-large field of Republican White House Hopefuls may be further
slashed in the weeks to come.

Former Rep. Will Hurd, facing a steep climb for the Republican nomination,
ended his bid on Monday. [1]Read more

These House Republicans say they won't vote for Steve Scalise as House
speaker

CBS News | Ellis Kim

October 11, 2023

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, has won the
nomination of his party to be the next House speaker, but must win an
election on the House floor to win the office.

If all lawmakers are present and all vote, Scalise can only afford to lose
four Republicans out of the 217 in the conference. Democrats are expected
to vote against Scalise.

In the secret ballot election held in the GOP conference Wednesday, Scalise
won 113, while his opponent, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan,
won 99. Many of those who supported Jordan have agreed to vote for Scalise
on the House floor, but the number who oppose him exceeds the number he can
lose. [2]Read more

Republican Rep. Peter Durant declares victory in Senate special Republican
primary

Durant says opponent, Bruce Chester, conceded in phone call

Boston Herald | Chris Van Buskirk

October 10, 2023

State Rep. Peter Durant declared victory Tuesday night in a Republican
special primary election for a central Massachusetts Senate seat that was
vacated earlier this year by Anne Gobi, who left the Legislature to serve
in the Healey administration.

Unofficial election results streamed in as soon as polls closed at 8 p.m.
and Durant told the Herald he was declaring victory just before 10 p.m.,
saying it was "statistically impossible" for his Republican challenger,
Bruce Chester, to make up the difference in votes according to unofficial
results from town clerks.

The one Democrat in the race, Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, faced no challenger in
his primary and swiftly moved on to the Nov. 7 general election, where he
is poised to face off against Durant, a House colleague. [3]Read more

California baseball star Steve Garvey makes bid for US Senate as Republican

Reuters | Sharon Bernstein & Omar Younis

October 10, 2023

California baseball legend Steve Garvey launched a campaign on Tuesday as a
Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat that was held by the late
Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein.

The 75-year-old Garvey, a former Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres
first baseman, brings star power that could distinguish his candidacy in a
crowded field.

California, which has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1988,
will vote in the November 2024 general election to fill Feinstein's seat.
After Feinstein's death on Sept. 29, California Governor Gavin Newsom
appointed Laphonza Butler, a former labor leader and head of the political
action committee Emily's list, to serve out the remainder of Feinstein's
term. [4]Read more

Senate Republicans call on Biden to freeze

$6B transfer in Iranian funds

The Hill | Alexander Bolton

October 10, 2023

A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) are
calling on the Biden administration to refreeze the $6 billion in assets it
allowed Iran to use for humanitarian purposes in exchange for the release
of five American prisoners.

The money had been frozen in South Korean banks after then-President Trump
banned Iranian oil exports in 2019.

Blackburn and other Republican senators wrote a letter to Biden dated Oct.
9 calling on him to stop the flow of the $6 billion to flow into Iran's
economy, even if the purpose is for humanitarian aid, allows the Iranian
regime to reallocate even more funds to supporting terrorism," they argued.
[5]Read more

Kari Lake kicks off her Arizona Senate bid with an endorsement from Trump.

"I am proud to give her my complete and total endorsement for the United
States Senate," Trump said in a video message.

NBC News | Jane C. Timm

October 10, 2023

Republican Kari Lake kicked off her campaign for the Senate on Tuesday
night with a boisterous rally in Scottsdale, Arizona, rattling off
conservative talking points and playing an endorsement video from former
President Donald Trump.

"This mama bear has a whole lot of fight left in her," Lake told more than
200 supporters. "I am not going to retreat. I'm going to stand on top of
this hill with every single one of you, and I know you're by my side as I
formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate."

Lake, a former TV anchor, lost the Arizona governor's race last year; she
refused to concede the race and continues to litigate her allegations of
fraud. In her announcement speech, she suggested divine intervention kept
her out of the governor's mansion. [6]Read more

Former CIA spy turned GOP congressman drops 2024 presidential bid, endorses
a Republican rival

Hurd, who becomes the second Republican presidential contender to suspend
his campaign,

endorses Nikki Haley for the 2024 GOP nomination

Fox News | Paul Steinhauser

October 9, 2023

Republican presidential candidate former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas is ending
his long-shot bid for the White House and endorsing one of his rivals for
the GOP nomination.

Hurd, a former CIA spy turned three-term congressman who in June launched
an uphill bid for the 2024 Republican nomination announced on social media
Monday that "it has become clear to me and my team that the time has come
to suspend our campaign."

He becomes the second Republican presidential candidate to call it quits,
following Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, who dropped out of the
race in August. [7]Read more

Top Republican slams alma mater Harvard after student groups blame Israel
for Hamas attack

More than two dozen Harvard student groups say Israel 'entirely
responsible' for unfolding violence

Fox News | Joe Schoffstall

October 9, 2023

House GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik slammed her alma mater,
Harvard, after student organizations at Ivy League university said Israel
was "entirely responsible" for "unfolding violence" against the country by
Iranian-backed Hamas soldiers.

More than two dozen Harvard student groups blasted Israel and supported
Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas launched deadly attacks across southern
Israel.

Stefanik called on Harvard leadership to condemn the "anti-Semetic"
statements.

"It is abhorrent and heinous that Harvard student groups are blaming Israel
for Hamas' barbaric terrorist attacks that have killed over 700 Israelis,"
Stefanik wrote Sunday night on X, formerly Twitter. "Any voice that excuses
the slaughter of innocent women and children has chosen the side of evil
and terrorism." [8]Read more

45 U.S. House Republicans seek to prevent another speaker ouster

Reuters | David Morgan

October 6, 2023

Forty-five allies of former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are calling
on their Republican colleagues for "fundamental changes" that would make it
more difficult for a small faction to oust whoever may take his place.

As the slim 221-212 Republican majority in the House of Representatives
prepares to select a replacement for McCarthy, the one-page letter
underscores the acrimony hovering over the stalled chamber as Congress
approaches a new government shutdown deadline on Nov. 17. [9]Read more

WG Discussion Points: The Big Advantage Republicans Have If They Can Ever
Get To It

WG Discussion Points | David Winston

October 6, 2023

House Republicans have gone through the most chaotic week in recent history
and now find themselves in the midst of choosing a new Speaker. The
internal turmoil hurts Republicans going into 2024, yet Republicans have a
major advantage on the economy and inflation that would be critical to
expanding a majority in the House and regaining the Senate. President Biden
is clearly struggling on the economy (36-54 economy job approval) and
contrary to White House Bidenomics narratives, the electorate believes
inflation is getting worse (60% worse, 16% better, 21% not changing). More
importantly, 60% of the country believes the economy was better in 2019
than it is today (60-29 believe-do not believe). On the key statement that
the economy has improved since President Biden took office, only 29% of the
country believes this and more than 6 out of 10 do not (61%). There was a
similar margin among independents (24-66). [10]WG Discussion Points,
October 6, 2023.pdf

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