Far-right Republicans in Congress have so far failed to unseat the handful of Republican colleagues they targeted in this year’s primaries. But the effort is moving forward and Rep. William Timmons of South Carolina is the next target.
It’s the last primary in office in an ongoing proxy war for GOP divisions over whether it’s better to work across the aisle and find some common ground to pass legislation – or maintain the conservative line at all costs, even if it means paralyzing Congress.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s challenge in her primary has drawn the most attention. But Timmons, a three-term congressman, also faces a competitive primary on Tuesday against state Rep. Adam Morgan, the leader of the Freedom Caucus in the South Carolina Legislature who has the support of several congressional members in Congress.
For Timmons, this race isn’t about his conservative credentials.
“This is not a ‘Liberty Convention versus William Timmons.’ This is a fringe and noisy component of the Freedom Caucus,” Timmons said. “I have a more conservative voting record than six of the nine people who supported my primary opponent at the Republican conference.”
“So it’s not about politics,” Timmons said. “It’s a matter of tactics.”
Timmons has some key advantages, including spending and support from outside groups and the most coveted endorsement in Republican politics: former President Donald Trump.
However, he may still be vulnerable. Timmons narrowly avoided a runoff two years ago against opponents with fewer resources and then faced accusations of an extramarital affair. Timmons declined to comment on these allegations, but has since divorced and told NBC News that he and his ex-wife “still get along really well.” South Carolina Republican strategists say the allegations could still be a problem for Timmons in the socially conservative district.
Proxy fight
Republican lawmakers on both sides of their infighting over tactics have become more willing to publicly support primary challengers against their own colleagues, including in Timmon’s primary.
Morgan has the support of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and members of the House Freedom Caucus, including Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., and Rep. Ralph Norman, Timmons’ South Carolina colleague. Timmons also has the support of several members of the Freedom Caucus, including Representative Byron Donalds of Florida and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the founding members, as well as Republican Governor Henry McMaster.
Gaetz campaigned with Morgan in April after sharing a video of him protesting special interests on the state House floor, helping bring attention and money to Morgan’s campaign.
“I need support like him in Congress to save this country and defeat the system,” Gaetz said in a statement.
Gaetz, Good and some members of the Freedom Caucus also supported primary challengers against Reps. Mike Bost of Illinois, Tony Gonzales of Texas and Don Bacon of Nebraska. Those incumbents prevailed, but Morgan believes this race will be different.
“If you look at the energy on the ground, people are ready for a change,” Morgan said in an interview. “And I think it would probably be a very different race than some of the others. In our area, we have a very informed voter base that is already angry with our incumbent and is really ready for a strong alternative.”
Morgan said Timmons’ vote for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year was “definitely a factor” in his decision to run, and he supported Freedom Caucus members’ push for changes to House rules that weakened control. spokesperson center.
Morgan said some members of the Freedom Caucus told him that Timmons pressured them to support McCarthy, suggesting they could lose committee assignments if they didn’t fall in line.
“Not only was my member missing in action, as is his usual modus operandi, but he was actually working for McCarthy, against the Conservatives,” Morgan said.
Timmons, a former member of the panel that hands out committee assignments, said it is “not true” that he threatened any lawmaker in the name of leadership. He said he has told some lawmakers that the mentality of “merit, seniority and teamwork” are taken into consideration in committee positions.
Morgan sought to cast Timmons as a “do-nothing moderate” who did not support conservative policies such as cutting government spending, opposing diversity initiatives and opposing aid to Ukraine. (Timmons counters who voted against the latest Ukraine aid package.)
Meanwhile, Timmons labeled Morgan as too extreme and uncompromising. From him final attack centered on Morgan’s support for an amendment that said a “pregnant woman who intentionally commits an abortion” could be punished with up to two years in prison or fined up to $5,000. Timmons argued that such positions are counterproductive to the anti-abortion rights movement and could ultimately help Democrats win in November.
“Protecting life is not a responsibility for Republicans,” Morgan countered. He rejected the attack and argued that he has voted in other cases to exempt women from criminal prosecution.
Morgan said the amendment aims to address a “loophole” related to “when women have abortions themselves,” appearing to refer to women who have medication abortions, who are responsible for the majority of abortions. in South Carolina.
Morgan said he supported the amendment “because we really want to protect lives.”
Trump factor
Tuesday’s race in the 4th District will also test the power of Trump’s endorsement in a competitive primary.
Trump carried the upstate district, home to dozens of evangelical voters, by a staggering 32 points in 2020, the largest margin of South Carolina’s seven districts, according to calculations by Kos Daily Elections. In this year’s presidential primaries, Trump won the 4th District by 20 points, with 60% of the vote.
“There is no doubt that this helps [Timmons] in the Republican primary,” said South Carolina Republican Party strategist Chip Felkel, who is not involved in the race, adding that this will likely boost Timmons in more rural parts of the district, outside of Greenville and Spartanburg.
Timmons released a TV advert with Trump speaking directly to the camera and calling Timmons “an America’s first patriot.”
“A lot of people want to support Trump,” Timmons said. “And if Trump says, ‘This is my guy, I need him to help me get our country back on track,’ that’s what they’ll do… He’s supporting me because of my results and because we have the same opinion. .”
The announcement highlights Timmons’ considerable financial advantage in the race. He and allied outside groups, including one linked to the cryptocurrency industry, spent $3.1 million on ads, compared to $221,000 for Morgan, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.
But Morgan isn’t worried that Trump’s endorsement will hurt his campaign.
“The people in this district love the president, they support the president, but they’re not going to vote for their representative just because someone tells them to,” Morgan said. “They will do the research themselves.”
It’s not unheard of for a Trump-backed incumbent to lose a primary to hard-line Republicans like Good and Rep. Lauren Boebert, who defeated an incumbent in Colorado in 2020. But it’s rare.
“So far, it’s been a failure in some states,” Dave Wilson, a strategist for the South Carolina Republican Party, said of the radicals’ primary efforts.
“There is a possibility that they could actually land Adam Morgan,” Wilson added. “But the Donald Trump filibuster, so to speak, might be enough to eliminate them here as well.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
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