Republican Party factional conflict in U.S. House primaries, 2018
Disputes between potential members of the House Freedom Caucus and other members of the Republican Party occurred in U.S. House primaries in 2018.
Led by U.S. Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the House Freedom Caucus supported candidates who were likely to join its ranks if elected to the House.[1][2] Other wings of the Republican Party, including those aligned with House Republican leadership, often preferred candidates not aligned with the Freedom Caucus.
The Freedom Caucus said it "gives a voice to countless Americans who feel that Washington does not represent them" and supported "open, accountable and limited government, the Constitution and the rule of law, and policies that promote the liberty, safety and prosperity of all Americans."[3] The Pew Research Center said the group formed in January 2015 "with the declared aim of pushing the House GOP leadership rightward on certain fiscal and social issues" and wanted "power shifted away from the leadership to the rank-and-file."[4]
Other House Republican caucuses more closely allied with leadership included the Republican Main Street Partnership, which aimed for "conservative, pragmatic, solutions-oriented policies that can gain support from legislators on both sides of the aisle," and the Republican Study Committee, which "is dedicated to a limited and Constitutional role for the federal government, a strong national defense, the protection of individual and property rights, and the preservation of traditional family values."[5][6]
Scott Wong wrote for The Hill that the primaries were a "proxy battle over how much influence...the Freedom Caucus can exert over the House GOP conference next year— and who might lead Republicans after retiring Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) steps down."[5] Jordan emerged as a speaker contender and announced he would run for the position against Ryan's preferred candidate, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).[5] After Republicans lost their majority in the general elections, McCarthy defeated Jordan in a contest for Republican minority leader. The vote was 159 to 43.[7]
To detail this fight, we identified competitive open Republican primaries where the Freedom Caucus or its leaders backed a candidate.[8] We also considered primaries where candidates say they would join the Freedom Caucus if elected.
The chart below shows a summary of results in the primaries we tracked.
| U.S. House Republican factions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faction | Primary victories in 2018 | Seats held prior to primaries | Performance | |||||||||
| Affiliated with the House Freedom Caucus | 8 | 6 | +2 | |||||||||
| Not affiliated with the House Freedom Caucus[9] | 10 | 12 | -2 | |||||||||
Factional conflicts in U.S. House Republican primaries
The chart below shows top candidates in open primaries where the House Freedom Caucus or its leaders have backed a candidate, or where a candidate has stated they would join the House Freedom Caucus if elected. If the candidate is aligned with the Freedom Caucus, they are marked as HFC. If they were not endorsed by the Freedom Caucus or its leaders, they are marked as Non-HFC. See an election we are missing? Email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ House Freedom Fund, "Endorsements," accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ McClatchy DC, "House Freedom Caucus looks to gain members as Texas GOP voters head for polls," March 5, 2018
- ↑ Facebook, "House Freedom Caucus," accessed May 29, 2018
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "What is the House Freedom Caucus, and who’s in it?" October 20, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Hill, "Freedom Caucus bruised but unbowed in GOP primary fights," May 22, 2018
- ↑ Politico, "Conservatives split off from Republican Study Committee," January 13, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "McCarthy defeats Jordan for minority leader in 159-to-43 vote," November 14, 2018
- ↑ We chose to focus on open primaries in order to see how many new members the caucus could potentially add after the 2018 elections.
- ↑ This includes all seats not held by members of the Freedom Caucus prior to the 2018 elections, including those held by Democrats.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Pew Research Center, "What is the House Freedom Caucus, and who’s in it?" October 20, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Republican Study Committee, "Membership," accessed June 22, 2018
- ↑ Roy won the runoff on May 22, 2018.
- ↑ McCall was not endorsed by the Freedom Caucus, but he said he would join if elected.
- ↑ Harris was not endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus until after the primary election.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Republican Main Street Partnership, "Members," accessed June 22, 2018
- ↑ Business Insider, "The avalanche of Republican retirements is creating a chance for once-unthinkable lawmakers to rise to powerful positions," November 9, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Freedom Caucus member becomes 200th sponsor of DREAM Act," September 26, 2017
- ↑ Wright was not endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus until after the primary election.
- ↑ Fiscal Note, "Under Paul Ryan, a divided House GOP still stands," July 26, 2016
- ↑ Mark Meadows was a member of the Freedom Caucus. Mark Meadows said he supported Sanford prior to his primary defeat.
- ↑ Hern won the runoff.
- ↑ Politico, "GOP's latest Freedom Caucus headache: Oversight chairmanship," April 26, 2017
- ↑ Bright was not endorsed by the Freedom Caucus or its leaders, but he said he would join the group if elected.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Endorsed by Mark Meadows.
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Budget Chair Diane Black wishes Freedom Caucus would get 'excited' about budget blueprint," July 18, 2017
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Angering Trump, the Freedom Caucus may have overplayed its hand," March 28, 2017
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