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Primary Threat in Alaska has GOP Establishment Shuddering
opensecrets.org ^ | 8/18/14 | Lalita Clozel

Posted on 08/19/2014 5:10:13 AM PDT by cotton1706

In Alaska’s Senate primary race, the Republican establishment has downplayed threats to its top candidate, Dan Sullivan. Yet his challengers, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell, have triggered a frenzy of last-minute spending to ensure Sullivan wins the Tuesday election.

Dan Sullivan, the frontrunner in the Senate Republican primary in Alaska, is facing stiff competition from opponents Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. (Facebook.com) Dan Sullivan, the frontrunner in the Senate Republican primary in Alaska, is facing stiff competition from opponents Joe Miller and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. (Facebook.com)

As of late July, Sullivan had about $4.1 million in the bank — over three times more than Treadwell, the lieutenant governor, who had banked $1.2 million. Miller, who is backed by the Tea Party, had barely pieced together $300,000.

And yet, last-minute funds to prop up Sullivan’s primary campaign are coming from up high. The leadership PAC of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave $10,000 to Sullivan’s campaign earlier this month. After receiving donations from George W. Bush and his former adviser Karl Rove, Sullivan received support from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his wife Joyce, who each gave the individual maximum, combining for a total $10,400. Dave Hobson, a former Republican representative in Ohio’s seventh district — home to the Sullivan family-owned paint material company RPM International – also gave $5,000 in recent weeks though his Pioneer PAC.

Sullivan, 49, a former state attorney general and previous head of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, has received support from other conservative behemoths. American Crossroads bought a $135,000 round of radio ads this month to back him. Club for Growth also put in $38,000

(Excerpt) Read more at opensecrets.org ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections
I'm sure they'll get their hand-picked man. And the oligarchy in the Senate will go on.
1 posted on 08/19/2014 5:10:13 AM PDT by cotton1706
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To: cotton1706

Does Alaska have runoffs? If not, what are three candidates doing in this race?


2 posted on 08/19/2014 5:12:35 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("If you're litigating against nuns, you've probably done something wrong."-Ted Cruz)
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To: Dr. Sivana

The GOP-e has no one to blame this year if the Senate does not turn Republican. They have picked all the candidates.


3 posted on 08/19/2014 5:23:31 AM PDT by georgiarat (Obama, providing incompetence since Day One!!)
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To: cotton1706

So long as conservatives choose to let two or three conservative candidates go up against the hand picked GOPe candidates, they can expect to be disappointed. These two guys are likely to split the vote, letting Sullivan cruise to victory.


4 posted on 08/19/2014 6:01:04 AM PDT by centurion316
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To: cotton1706

Notice two things:

The right seems to split its vote (mebbie just bought and paid for by RINOs.).

The press NEVER, EVER MENTIONS ANY ISSUE IN THE CAMPAIGN—it’s all ‘who’s ahead, who’s behind, who’s coming up kind of BS!’


5 posted on 08/19/2014 7:02:37 AM PDT by Flintlock ( Deport them ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!)
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To: georgiarat

Does the GOPe really want a majority in the Senate?


6 posted on 08/19/2014 7:35:32 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: cotton1706

The name that stands out here is Mitch McConnell. By now there should be no argument that he is an enemy of conservatism.

But what should also be mentioned is that he does SO MUCH harm to conservatism that a freshman Democrat taking his seat would be *less* harmful. Assuming that Republicans still control the senate.

If before the write in votes are made before the November election, the Tea Party gets out the message to *abandon* McConnell to his fate by just *not* voting for him, and in doing so, McConnell loses his seat, it will send shockwaves throughout the Republican leadership.

With the loss of Cantor, it would be a devastating, one-two punch against the GOP-e.


7 posted on 08/19/2014 8:16:15 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: centurion316

Sullivan was (mostly) viewed as the conservative alternative to (mostly) establishment Treadwell.

Of course there’s also the unelectable Joe Miller.

Although all these terms are debatable.

Seems the national estbalishment guys have shifted to Sullivan to prevent Miller from sneaking through in a three way split.


8 posted on 08/19/2014 8:21:46 AM PDT by NeoCaveman (DC, it's Versailles on the Potomac but without the food and culture)
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To: cotton1706

Yet his challengers, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell.

Why are the GOP-e opponents splitting their votes? Which is more important, beating the GOP-e guy, or their own egos and getting names for themselves? Those opposed to the GOP-e need to be united in that opposition, not divided.


9 posted on 08/19/2014 8:43:00 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: georgiarat

They will blame their base; the base who they insulted, spit on, threatened, belittled, stabbed in the back, and will blame them for not getting out to vote for their ‘picks’ that came from their ‘superior’ perspective, even though in the recent past a plethora of their picks have lost and even though Pelosi would still be Speaker without the Tea Party movement.


10 posted on 08/19/2014 5:10:07 PM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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