Infighting Continues to Escalate in GOP Senate Primaries

This week, as Senate Republicans’ “increasingly crowded” and “contested” primaries continue to cause “headaches,” their “intraparty rifts that defined the 2022 cycle and contributed to the GOP’s loss[es]” were once again on full display in races across the map.

• In Michigan, James Craig entered the Republican primary, “making for a potentially messy” and “fractious primary in a state where the GOP recently has suffered historic losses.” Craig said he’s “not inclined to get out of the race because of [Mike] Rogers,” who entered the race last month. This comes after a report of “outright deceit” and “skullduggery” in the race, with Craig repeatedly accusing Rogers’ campaign of attempting to bribe him to stay out of the race. “Craig also took jabs at” Rogers over his support for Ukraine.

• In Montana, Matt Rosendale has “ramped up his rhetoric in fundraising emails … criticizing both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.” New reporting detailed how Rosendale’s candidacy “could buck Republican leaders’ plans to clear the field for their preferred candidate.” In an article this week Rosendale and Sheehy ratched up their war of words, with Rosendale calling Sheehy the candidate of the “D.C. Cartel” and the “Biden/McConnell establishment,” while “Sheehy fired back, calling Rosendale ‘an insider that nobody likes.’”
   

• In Ohio, Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan are attacking one another after each contributed $3 million of their own money in Q3. Dolan’s campaign is attacking Moreno for breaking his promise not to self-fund, stating Moreno’s “credibility is eroding as quickly as his donor support.” Likewise, Moreno criticized Dolan for using his personal fortune to bankroll his campaign. 

• In West Virginia, Alex Mooney attacked Jim Justice for “hurting coal miners and West Virginia’s economy,” citing a recent report detailing “the Justice company’s failure to pay a court-ordered sum of over $10 million.” Mooney again called Justice the “King of Scandals,” stating that Justice’s “failure to pay off court-ordered debts and mountains of fines shows that he is not the leader West Virginians deserve.”

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