Meet GOP Senate candidate Dan Sullivan’s not-so-secret weapon: Julie Fate Sullivan.
Meet GOP Senate candidate Sullivan’s wife, Julie Fate Sullivan.
Author Archives: Amanda
The RNC’s ‘Growth and Opportunity Project’ comes to Alaska
A year ago today, the Republican National Committee launched a new initiative with a name that only a committee could love. The goal of the “Growth and Opportunity Project” is to expand the party, with a focus on reaching out to women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Pacific Americans. According to those who pushed for the project, the party “has to stop talking to itself.” It urged Republicans to try to “engage with voters who don’t always identify with Republicans.”
To that end, the RNC has hired field directors throughout the country. Michael Shirley has been assigned to Alaska since September. And though he’s not talking to some of the best Republican consultants in the state — namely Art Hackney and Marc Hellenthal — he is speaking at Republican district conventions and working with party people.
The RNC has also launched a six-figure cable and digital ad buy as part of a “Create Your American Dream” campaign. It features the GOP’s version of diverse Americans, none of whom appear to be Alaskans, talking about what issues matter to them and why they choose to vote Republican. The ads will run in 14 states, including Alaska. Watch for it on a webpage near you, and be prepared to think, “Why am I watching an ad by people who don’t look anything like me or my neighbors, telling me about why they’re Republicans?”
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
The week in politics: Parnell’s light is dimming, Palin drama, and the culturally sensitive left
Until recently, Gov. Sean Parnell has had a relatively soft ride, with the public and Alaska media taking it comparatively easy on our well-coiffed, unassuming governor. The one who declared during his 2008 race against U.S. Rep. Don Young that “I just want to be a light.” A little odd, and he wasn’t elected, but it sounded good. Who doesn’t like light?
Besides, after Frank Murkowski and Sarah Palin, hiring someone whose highest aspiration was to be a light sounded relaxing. Like sitting on a beach in California, where perhaps he met the oil industry exec he wanted to appoint to sit on a board that decides the value of the trans-Alaska pipeline and how much local taxes the oil companies pay. Where else would he have gotten the name? Parnell won’t say.
All we know is whoever sits on the board has the ability to cost or save the oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
Anyhow, after a sudden storm of apparently unexpected public outrage, the Californian withdrew his name and flew back to the light.
And that’s not all: The governor also appointed a former Exxon Mobil executive to the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. You know, the one that is going to partner with Exxon Mobil to manage Alaska’s share of the gas line? This one lives in Texas, where there’s also lots of light.
Then there’s HB 77, which came from the governor. In the Senate Resources Committee, more than 100 people from across the state gathered at legislative offices to testify against it on Wednesday. For 90 minutes, fishermen and tribal leaders, environmentalists and sportsmen spoke against the bill.
“Please kill this bill now and send a Senate resolution to Gov. Parnell asking him to apologize to Alaskans for introducing this ‘Muzzling Alaskans Act,’ ” said 64-year-old fisherman Eric Jordon of Sitka. Legislative offices across the state erupted in cheers. They came back and did it again on Friday.
More stormy forecasts: School choice, which Parnell was willing to fight for until he wasn’t, appears dead, and the women’s groups and socially liberal independents are beginning to organize over abortion.
In short: Parnell’s light increasingly looks like it’s coming from one of those energy-efficient bulbs.
Parnell’s response to all of this? Bash the EPA over a mine, not, it should be noted, over the comments that the EPA chief made about throwing away a “f…ing” pin that was given to her by a North Pole official, and saying that a gift of moose meat that she got from an Alaska Native girl “could gag a maggot.”
Perhaps we need Don Young to give Washington bureaucrats a seminar on class and manners, especially when boorish bureaucrats deal with civilized people who were on the land before there was a Washington.
Speaking of the culturally sensitive left: The environmentalists are coordinating a campaign against Lisa Murkowski over her fight to build a potentially life-saving road between King Cove and Cold Bay. They claim that she is “politicizing real medical emergencies.” Got her on that one. Yep. She’s a politician. And yep, she’s fighting for a road through a slice of a wilderness refuge in order to save lives. But birds, apparently, are more important than people who eat things that “could gag a maggot.”
Lightening up, here’s one for you: There’s talk about a brewing custody fight between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. Word is that Bristol has taken the child, contrary to a court order, to Arizona. At least we know they aren’t going to be traveling through the Southwest in the Palin RV, up for sale for $279,000.
Gov. Parnell might think about buying it. There’s a sunroof in the bedroom that allows the light to flood in.
Last week in this column, I wrote it had been rumored that my favorite Facebook poster, Rep. Bob Lynn, would be retiring after he got his bill on immigration and driver’s licenses passed. As you-know-who might say, au contraire, mon cher. Lynn isn’t going anywhere. Never.
Former Knowles chief of staff Jim Ayers has signed on as an adviser to Byron Mallott’s campaign. And this is a little late in coming but independent candidate Bill Walker hired rural adviser Paulette Schuerch from Kotzebue. Nancy Peterson, most recently from Unalaska, is his campaign manager.
In the lieutenant governor’s race: Energetic Wasilla math teacher and Democratic candidate Bob Williams spent his spring break pushing a new poll that he commissioned that shows he has a chance, pressing the flesh wherever he went.
On to the mighty Senate: GOPers are wondering if Joe Miller is going to attend the Republican state convention. Big endorsements for DNR Dan this week: Club for Growth and the Alaska Associated Builders and Contractors, though what he’s doing with all this support is anybody’s guess. Finally, my deepest sympathy to Mead Treadwell over the death of his brother-in-law.
The Anchorage Assembly race is heating up. Pete Petersen is getting lots of love from the unions, at least two of which are putting at least $50,000 into his campaign. Word is that incumbent Assemblyman Adam Trombley’s comparatively disorganized business supporters are scrambling to raise PAC funds. A Friday night fundraiser featuring Sen. Lisa Murkowski should help.
Finally, whoever wins which races, it probably won’t be someone like Fairbanks Borough Assemblyman Lance Roberts, who tried to get the Fairbanks Co-op Market to no longer carry Ms. Magazine.
Perhaps he’d benefit from a little enlightening here: Not only do women now have the right to vote, they exercise it.
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This column was first published in the Anchorage Daily News
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Pro-Begich super-PAC calls Sullivan’s residency ‘fishy.’ Sullivan hits back.
Retired Air Force General Joe Ralston, who is a former NATO commander and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded to an ad released on Sunday by the pro-Mark Begich super-PAC, Put Alaska First. The ad questions GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan’s Alaskan residency.
“It’s disappointing and shameful for anyone to attack Dan for leaving Alaska to serve his country after 9/11,” Ralston, who is a Sullivan supporter, said.
The ad, entitled “Fishy” begins: “Dan Sullivan, his claims of being an Alaskan just got fishier.” It says that Sullivan, while claiming to have been a 10 year resident of the state in 2013, checked the “non-resident” box when applying for a fishing license in 2009. Fish and Game’s rules for residency are different than other residency requirements. To qualify for a resident license, you have to be physically present for a year and not claim residency in another state.
Sullivan moved to Alaska in 1997. He left the state in 2002 to work for the National Security Council. He was called to active duty in the Marines between 2004 to 2006. He then worked for the State Department until 2009, when he moved back to the state to be Alaska’s attorney general, and then the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
While away, he owned a house in Maryland, which the ad mentions.
“This is clearly a coordinated effort on the part of national Democrats to attack Republican candidates for their service, and distract from their record of supporting Obamacare and President Obama’s failed agenda,” Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson said in a statement.
Those who are supporting Begich would be wise to tread carefully here. Republicans will be using any statement by challengers perceived to be anti-veteran. Earlier this month, in another hotly contested Senate race, the right jumped on Arkansas’ Sen. Mark Pryor’s statement that challenger Rep. Tom Cotton is viewing his service in the military as an “entitlement.” Pryor described Cotton’s attitude as, ‘I served my country, let me into the Senate.’”
Pryor, like Begich, is a Democrat running reelection in a red state. Neither are veterans. And their campaigns at times appear to parallel each other. Increasingly, Cotton and Sullivan’s campaigns also have similarities and national groups will likely use similar strategies to advance the candidates.
Sullivan’s campaign released the following timeline of his service:
May 2006—January 2009: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, Washington, D.C.
December 2004— April 2006: Active Duty Marine Corps, staff officer to CENTCOM Commander General John Abizaid
August 2002—December 2004: Director, International Economics Directorate of the National Security Council and National Economic Council staffs at the White House, Washington, D.C.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
The latest in battle of ads between Koch brothers and Begich
The Koch brothers are firing back against an ad released last week by Sen. Mark Begich. In its response to that ad, Flint Hills Resources, which is owned by the Kochs, is accusing Begich of making “misleading and false statements” about them and their refinery in North Pole, Alaska. Koch Industries announced last month that it was pulling out of Alaska. The fate of the refinery is unknown.
The Koch ad is the latest salvo in an escalating war against Begich that has been being waged even before the current election season.
Here’s a little background on the latest battle: The Koch brothers’ funded political group has been airing ads, accusing Begich, among other things, of supporting a carbon tax, which would hurt Koch Industries. Among Koch Industries holdings is a refinery in North Pole, Alaska. While waging the ad campaign on the carbon tax, Koch Industries announced that it was pulling out Alaska. Begich used the first commercial of his campaign to point out that he does not support a carbon tax. Also, the ad says that we shouldn’t trust the Kochs, whose refinery left “a mess.”
The refinery has left about 300 households and businesses with tainted water, and a sulfolane plume that’s 3 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. About 80 people who worked at the refinery are at risk of losing their jobs, and other entities, including the Alaska Railroad, also relied heavily on the refinery and are now considering layoffs.
For more detailed background read here and here.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Sarah Palin to start her own digital video channel
A solid news site, Capital New York, gets the scoop on Sarah Palin’s upcoming video channel, called “Rogue TV,” which is expected to launch in April or May:
Fox News contributor and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be launching her own digital video channel, tentatively called “Rogue TV,” a source familiar with the project told Capital. The channel will be available through Tapp, the digital video service founded by former CNN chief Jon Klein and former NBC Universal entertainment executive Jeff Gaspin. Subscriptions will cost $10 per month. Rogue is expected to launch in April or May, and it would be one of the first of the digital channels offered by Tapp. Palin’s channel will feature video commentaries from the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, discussing current events and political issues.
Continue reading here.
Quote of the day: Don Young also gags
As hoped for, Rep. Don Young weighs in on Gina McCarthy’s comment that a gift of Alaska moose given to her by an Alaska child “could gag a maggot.”
Do you know what makes me gag? The EPA’s continuous assault on our state; whether it be blocking offshore air permits in Alaska for years, making it difficult for our power plants to operate, harassing our fishing fleet over deck wash and fish waste, or attempting a grab of Alaska’s lands. This just goes to show the EPA truly doesn’t understand our state and the people that live here. Gina McCarthy’s words sound like they come from someone who has contempt for, rather than an appreciation of, the rich customary traditions of Alaska’s people. Maybe the placer miners in Chicken, AK will invite her in for dinner during the EPA’s next raid and she’ll like what they’re serving a little better.
Young works to secure USF dollars for rural Alaska
I haven’t written about Rep. Don Young for a while, and don’t have much of an idea what he’s up to. He did send a press release out today about meeting with the FCC chairman. The meeting, according to a press release issued by his office, “focused around finding new ways to serve rural and tribal areas across the country. The conversation included discussions on how to maintain a strong and robust Universal Service Fund (USF) and how to uphold the federal mandate of universal service,” the release said.
The Universal Service Fund is a charge on every phone bill that helps subsidize costs of telecommunications in rural America. It should be noted that the FCC classifies all of Alaska, with the exception of Anchorage, as rural. Therefore, the USF fund is more important to Alaska than to any other state in the country.
Recently, with the help of Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska based GCI and Copper Valley received $41 million as part of the fund to increase cell phone and broadband access to tribal areas in the state.
Meantime, according to Newsweek, other telecom giants are scaling back on promises to connect rural America:
After making a big, bold promise to wire every corner of America, the telecom giants are running away from their vow to provide nationwide broadband service by 2020. For almost 20 years, AT&T, Verizon and the other big players have collected hundreds of billions of dollars through rate increases and surcharges to finance that ambitious plan, but after wiring the high-density big cities, they now say it’s too expensive to connect the rest of the country. But they’d like to keep all that money they banked for the project.
Read more here.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
What would the left say if EPA ‘could-gag-a-maggot’ chief were a Republican?
The left is keeping with the worst of its tendency to resort to labeling Republicans as racist or bigoted when they say something they don’t agree with, and yet remains silent when their own says something insensitive. Most recently, it’s going after Rep. Paul Ryan for this comment made during an interview:
We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.
Ryan has since apologized.
Imagine what the left would say if Ryan visited one of those inner cities, accepted a gift of food from a child prepared by the child’s family, and later told a Wall Street Journal reporter that it was food that “could gag a maggot.”
From what I can find, there’s been absolutely no condemnation of the EPA chief Gina McCarthy’s remarks from the culturally sensitive, non-racist left.
Alaska state Rep. Doug Isaacson, a Republican from North Pole, offered a resolution on the House floor condemning the EPA chief’s remarks and calling for her dismissal. He withdrew it due to technicalities but plans on reintroducing the resolution.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
State of the U.S. Senate
From Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball:
Speaking of primaries, it’s been fascinating to watch the GOP contest in Alaska, where Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R) started as the favorite but has been such a mess that the nomination is now former state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan’s (R) to lose. In fact, a couple Republican operatives separately told us that if Treadwell continues on in the primary, the distraction could cost Sullivan the seat. Also planning to run in the August primary is Joe Miller, the Republican nominee who lost to Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R) write-in campaign in 2010. GOP leaders aren’t worried about Miller winning the nomination, but a three-way race could further bog down Sullivan. Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Begich (D) is, we believe, a formidable incumbent whose biggest problem remains the Last Frontier’s significant Republican lean.
EPA chief McCarthy apologizes after saying Alaska moose meat gift ‘could gag a maggot’
From the Wall Street Journal, on EPA chief Gina McCarthy’s comments while in Alaska meeting with Bristol Bay tribal groups about Pebble:
She has been surprised by the government’s ethics bureaucracy and its gift guidelines, remarking how officials chased her down for a dinky North Pole pin someone gave her at an event (“I threw the f—ing thing away,” she told them), and for a jar of moose meat that “could gag a maggot” she accepted from a little girl during a hearing in Alaska.
McCarthy offered an apology to the Alaskan delegation of the National Congress of American Indians at a conference in Washington, D.C., who appeared to grudgingly accept it.
GOP senate candidate Dan Sullivan’s campaign used the comments to bash Begich. “After 5 years in the Senate, Senator Begich’s inability to educate his democratic colleagues in Washington about the uniqueness of Alaska continues to be on full display,” Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson said.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Parnell under fire. His pick for SARB withdraws name, goes back to California.
As I predicted would happen, the Anchorage Daily News is reporting that Dennis Mandell withdrew his name to sit on the State Assessment Review Board, the board that values the trans-Alaska pipeline for tax purposes.
Gov. Sean Parnell has drawn fire for appointing Mandell, a Californian and a former oil industry executive. Parnell has offered no explanation as to why he had to go to California to find a qualified board member. Likewise, he’s offered no explanation as to why he fired the former board member, who fought to raise the assessed value of the pipeline, resulting in millions of tax dollars for Alaskan communities.
A state law says board and commission nominees must be registered Alaska voters. The Alaska Constitution says that such boards must be filled by U.S. citizens, which Parnell used to defend the appointment. He continued to do so even as members of his own party began questioning the legality of the appointment. His intransigence, from someone who isn’t known to be so, is puzzling.
This has not turned out to be the smoothest session of Parnell’s tenure. It looks like school choice, which Parnell supported, is dead for now. Women’s groups and socially liberal independents are beginning to organize over abortion. And Parnell’s bill to streamline DNR’s ability to permit is under intense attack. More than 100 people from all across the state gathered at legislative offices to testify against HB77 on Wednesday. For 90 minutes, fisherman and tribal leaders, environmentalists and sportsman, spoke against the bill. Many of them with an intensity and anger rarely seen.
The comments of Eric Jordon, a 64 year old fisherman from Sitka, were reflective of the testimony. “Please kill this bill now and send a Senate resolution to Gov. Parnell asking him to apologize to Alaskans for introducing this ‘Muzzling Alaskans Act,’” he said. The crowd gathered at the Sitka Legislative Office building erupted in cheers.
Parnell, a former ConocoPhillips lobbyist, who is running for reelection against Democrat Byron Mallott and independent Bill Walker, should be worried about upsetting so many Alaskans. And he should be worried about looking like he’s too close to industry right now. His major accomplishment so far—lowering taxes on the oil industry—is on primary ballot for repeal. I’ve been told that polls indicate that the vote, if held tomorrow, would be close.
On Thursday, Mallott took advantage of the situation. He sent out the following mock state board appointments form:
Board on which you would like to serve: Employer (circle one) ConocoPhillips Exxon Shell BP Occupation (circle one): Lobbyist Oil Industry Consultant Oil Executive State of Residence (Alaska not required):
Ouch.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Miller ‘expressed disbelief’ over Club for Growth’s endorsement of Sullivan for Senate
GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller “expressed disbelief” over the Club for Growth’s endorsement of candidate Dan Sullivan on Tuesday. “Dan Sullivan is just another big government crony capitalist,” Miller wrote.
Miller, Sullivan and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell are all running to be the Republican nominee to run against Sen. Mark Begich in the general election. The Club for Growth, a powerhouse, fiscally conservative group, announced its endorsement on Tuesday, calling Sullivan a “fiscal conservative with a stellar track record in Alaska.”
In his response, which is in full below, Miller listed numerous people who donated to Sullivan’s campaign who Miller says are the “architects of the Big Bank and Wall Street Bailouts.” He also says that Sullivan supports the climate change “scam” and international welfare, presumably when Sullivan was an assistant secretary of state under Condoleezza Rice.
Indeed, Sullivan is more of an establishment conservative than those the Club usually endorses, among them Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Jeff Flake and a bevy of right wing Republicans in the House. In contrast, Sullivan’s endorsement appears more practical than ideological, which makes Miller bristle.
“It is unfortunate that Club for Growth would insert themselves into a contested primary to work against advocates of the free market,” Miller said. “But I never expected to be K Street’s candidate. We won the 2010 primary without their help, and we expect to do it again.”
The Club for Growth endorsed Miller in 2010 against sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski. However, it did so only after Miller won the primary, and there was some talk at the time they the group didn’t follow through with the money and support that was expected after the endorsement.
The group also endorsed now-Gov. Sean Parnell in 2008 over Rep. Don Young, who called them “one of the most extreme groups in Washington D.C.”
A few things to note: Although he’s filed the paperwork, Miller has yet to officially announce his candidacy. Too, he’s been comparatively silent on the campaign trail and if he’s been actively raising money, he began after the last FEC report was due.
The last reports show Miller only raising $30,490 in the last quarter. However, he had leftover funds from his 2010 run, beginning the year with $426,783 and ending with $231,705.
Treadwell ended the year with $90,000 in cash and $141,000 in debt. Of the three, Sullivan has by far proven to be the best fundraiser, raising nearly $1.25 million in the last quarter alone.
The Democratic incumbent, Sen. Begich ended the year with $2.8 million cash on hand, and has been relentlessly fundraising.
Sullivan’s fundraising success no doubt played into the Club’s decision to endorse so early.
There’s been no reaction yet from the Treadwell campaign, who perhaps had the most to lose with the endorsement. Miller has at least the potential to have another 2010 “movement” type following, if he chooses to tap into it. Treadwell has been trying to argue that he was the true conservative in the race, an argument that will be more difficult to make now.
Here’s Miller’s release in full:
Joe Miller expressed disbelief at the Washington-based Club for Growth’s endorsement of Dan Sullivan in the Alaska senate race earlier today.
“It is unfortunate that Club for Growth would insert themselves into a contested primary to work against advocates of the free market,” Miller said. “But I never expected to be K Street’s candidate. We won the 2010 primary without their help, and we expect to do it again.
“National media has been quick to point out the group’s support of Joe Miller’s candidacy in 2010, but Club for Growth declined to endorse Miller against the most liberal Republican Senator seeking re-election that year. Only after Miller’s stunning primary victory did he receive an endorsement for his run against Democrat Scott McAdams.
Miller continued, “We are undeterred. This is not a time for fair weather friends and sunshine patriots. I am not surprised that an organization thousands of miles from Alaska, inside the Washington DC bubble, may see things differently than the folks on the ground.”
The Miller campaign would like to offer a constructive piece of advice. It may be a good idea to vet candidates before throwing one’s reputation away. It is regrettable that Club for Growth would cast their vote for the status quo. Dan Sullivan is just another big government crony capitalist.
Had they done their homework they would have known that Dan Sullivan’s campaign is funded by international finance – to include former President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick; President and CEO of the International Institute of Finance Timothy Adams; former Chairman of the Board of the New York Federal Reserve Stephan Friedman; the wife of former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson; Jeffery Reuben III, CEO of Rockefeller and Company; numerous Goldman Sachs executives; George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff Josh Bolton, etc. In other words, many of the architects of the Big Bank and Wall Street Bailouts that Club for Growth claims to oppose.
In addition to his ties to corporate welfare, Sullivan has clearly supported international welfare and the international community’s shakedown of American taxpayers for billions for the “climate change” scam, and more . . .
“I know my candidacy will not have the backing of Wall Street or K Street. It will also not have the support of the party elite in Washington or in Alaska. To curry favor with the Establishment is not why I am running for U.S. Senate,” said Miller. “I am running because I believe our nation has reached a critical juncture. As I travel the state, I am stirred with hope, because people throughout Alaska get it. They know the path we are on leads to the downfall of our nation, and they want real change, real reform. With their support on Election Day, I will bring their voice and their vote to our nation’s capital.”
Joe Miller is a husband, father, combat veteran, businessman, and advocate for constitutional liberty, who believes in limited government, individual rights, private property, free markets, and the Right to life.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoye@yahoo.com
Parnell’s fight over SARB nominee flabbergasting
Given that even the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is against Gov. Sean Parnell on Dennis Mandell’s appointment to the State Assessment Review Board, I’m betting that Mandell withdrawals his name himself. Or maybe not. Maybe Parnell will continue to fight through his press secretary and he’ll continue to lose. Why Parnell let himself as deep into this as he has is a mystery. Or, as Sen. Hollis French said today at a press conference, “I’m flabbergasted” From the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, which calls on Parnell to withdraw the appointment:
Mr. Mandell’s appointment is clouded not only by the dispute about qualifications but also by the absence of an explanation of the governor’s motivation in making the changes to the board. From the outside it appears as though he wants to increase oil industry representation so as to reduce the chance of valuation decisions unfavorable to the pipeline’s owners.
Club for Growth endorses Dan Sullivan for Senate
The fiscally conservative powerhouse Club for Growth announced on Wednesday that it’s endorsing former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan for Senate. Sullivan is running in the Republican Senate primary against Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. The winner will run against Sen. Mark Begich in the general election.
“Dan Sullivan is a fiscal conservative with a stellar track record in Alaska and we strongly endorse him for the United States Senate,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement.
The group opposes federal regulations and supports “lowering or eliminating” corporate taxes and the capital gains tax.
The Club for Growth endorsement not only brings in big money, but it also establishes Sullivan as the fiscal conservative in the race, a designation that all three candidates have been fighting for.
“I am honored to receive the Club for Growth’s endorsement of my campaign for United States Senate. The Club for Growth has been instrumental in advocating for pro-growth policies, limiting the growth of government and fighting back against the Obama administration’s overreach into the economy and lives of Americans,” Sullivan said in an email following the announcement.
In 2012, the Club for Growth spent $16 million on congressional candidates. It won half of the races into which it put money, making it the group with the best record of any group supporting candidates.
That said, it hasn’t had much luck in Alaska. The organization endorsed Miller against Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2010, and it endorsed Gov. Sean Parnell who ran against Rep. Don Young in 2008. The group went after Young hard, saying, among other things, that he represents the “worst of a Republican Party that became too comfortable in power.”
Nevertheless, it’s a big endorsement for Sullivan. Groups often wait for a clear winner to support candidates in primary races. The early endorsement by the Club for Growth will likely signal to other groups that they are also free to support Sullivan.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com