3 Feb 2013 12:40 pm
New Karl Rove Super PAC Targets Tea Party Candidates The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the partys efforts to win control of the Senate. The group, the Conservative Victory Project, is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races. There is a broad concern about having blown a significant number of races because the wrong candidates were selected, said Steven J. Law, the president of American Crossroads, the super PAC creating the new project. We dont view ourselves as being in the incumbent protection business, but we want to pick the most conservative candidate who can win. The effort would put a new twist on the Republican-vs.-Republican warfare that has consumed the partys primary races in recent years. In effect, the establishment is taking steps to fight back against Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that have wielded significant influence in backing candidates who ultimately lost seats to Democrats in the general election. The first test of the groups effort to influence primary races could come here in Iowa, where some Republicans are already worrying about who will run for the seat being vacated by Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat. It is the first open Senate seat in Iowa since 1974, and Republicans are fearful of squandering a rare opportunity. The Conservative Victory Project, which is backed by Karl Rove and his allies who built American Crossroads into the largest Republican super PAC of the 2012 election cycle, will start by intensely vetting prospective contenders for Congressional races to try to weed out candidates who are seen as too flawed to win general elections. Read More Representative Steve King [R] could be among the earliest targets of the Conservative Victory Project if he decides to run for the Senate seat vacated by Tom Harkin.