GOP establishment wonders: Is it time to abandon Thad Cochran?
Realistically, Cochran's got maybe a 10 percent chance of winning the runoff. McDaniel's base is excited to knock off the incumbent and outside groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund are prepared to keep pumping in money to send a conservative to the Senate. Cochran's base, which includes lots of casual voters who favor him for name-recognition reasons alone, probably can't be bothered to trudge to the polls for the second time in three weeks. That's why insurgent candidates almost always pull the upset once they make it to a runoff. The only way to get Cochran voters back out there on June 24th is for his allies to spend boatloads more money tearing down McDaniel and promoting Cochran. And if it doesn't work and McDaniel wins the runoff anyway, then you've spent three more weeks tearing your party's new nominee apart for no reason.
The NRSC insists it's "all in" for Cochran, but don't kid yourself. They're saying that as a precaution, until Team Establishment can huddle and come to a decision. They may end up going in again for Cochran, but rest assured, it won't be "all in." And some outfits, like Karl Rove's group American Crossroads, won't go in at all.
In lieu of an exit question, read Philip Klein on why the tea party's already won in Mississippi regardless of what happens in the runoff. The goal here, always, is to pressure Republicans in Congress into voting a more conservative line. The best way to do that is to elect conservatives, but merely scaring the shinola out of an incumbent in a losing effort is enough to make the rest of the caucus sit up and take notice.Also read:
New Bergdahl counter-scandal: A Republican put soldiers in his unit in touch with the media, you know
Reports: WH Considered Paying Cash Ransom for Bergdahl Last Year
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