Safe Republican Candidates Earn Cred Giving To GOP Contenders

CQ Politics/Roll Call ^ | Oct. 30, 2010 – 12:54 p.m. | Tricia Miller

[JSDude1]

Call it being a team player.

If you’re a Republican House candidate flush with cash and poised to win, you can score points with leadership if you donate to competitive races. That cred could lead to good committee assignments down the line.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) followed that model in 2006 and ended up with a prime spot in leadership. Now he’s advising candidates from South Carolina to Missouri to do the same, even suggesting which contenders are most in need of funds for new ads.

In a great year for their party, some House Republican challengers are doing more to grow the incoming freshman class than just winning their own races. Several of these not-yet-elected candidates have supported their potential classmates in tougher races late in the campaign cycle, contributing not only to the National Republican Congressional Committee but also directly to fellow candidates.

South Carolina state Rep. Tim Scott, the prohibitive favorite in the race to replace retiring Rep. Henry Brown (R), said he gave to about 30 Republican contenders earlier this week. He might be the most prolific giver in a growing group of candidate-donors.

“I tried to find people who were philosophically consistent with where I am,” he said.

Scott is in good company. Tennessee’s Diane Black, Indiana’s Todd Rokita, Michigan’s Bill Huizenga, Missouri’s Billy Long, South Carolina’s Trey Gowdy, and Arkansas’ Tim Griffin and Steve Womack have all given to other Republicans in battleground races. It’s likely more have transferred funds, but it’s hard to track data of unelected candidates giving to other candidates, particularly in the closing stages of the race.

Republican candidates insist they give as a way to expand their team, not to position