“If we are going to become the majority party – which I think we are – you have to accept that we are a big tent,” said LaHood, adding that Republicans in Peoria, Illinois, are different from those in Florida, New York or California. . “I tried to follow this philosophy and this attitude that we are going to become the party of the majority.”
He added: “I see our freshman class that just arrived, and that diversity is what we have to build.”
Representatives Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) And eight other House Republicans who broke with their party last month to support Trump’s second impeachment faced reproaches from their own ranks and censorship of officials the state party. Trump’s GOP embrace – or distance – created a national schism for the party. But LaHood, who obtained Trump’s endorsement last fall but avoided criticizing his colleagues in the House, compartmentalized this.
LaHood did not directly address the split over Trump within the party, but he acknowledged, “there is a lot at stake.”
Republicans are just a handful of seats away from controlling the House, and when asked whether the NRCC would fund the re-election campaigns of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment, LaHood said “absolutely”.
He said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and NRCC President Tom Emmer asked him to take over, “and I am proud to work with them and the rest of our team, including [Reps.] Liz Cheney and Steve Scalise. “
Still, LaHood said he did not speak to Kinzinger – who initiated a PAC to combat Trumpism in the Republican Party and regularly denounces the former president since the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol – and largely avoided discussing his Republican colleague of Illinois. The NRCC also has a long-standing policy of staying out of the primaries and only supporting the Republican voters they choose for the general election.
Taking over the NRCC has another advantage for LaHood, son of President Barack Obama’s first transport secretary, Ray LaHood, a Republican: he has not ruled out a possible candidacy for the Illinois government.
But for now, he said, he is focused on raising money for the GOP. The congressman is a skilled fundraiser, with more than $ 3.5 million in the bank – a considerable sum for a Republican in a deeply blue state. He also hosted the NRCC’s spring 2019 dinner, the largest annual fundraiser for the organization.
“The fact that we have not lost a holder [in 2020] it’s amazing, and then taking all the seats we’ve won, then our job at NRCC is to protect our holders, and the money we help raise will go to that, ”said LaHood.
The NRCC also appointed Rep. Carol Miller of West Virginia to lead the group’s recruitment efforts.
LaHood, a former federal prosecutor, considers Trump a friend. He served as co-president of Trump’s re-election candidacy and ran as his delegate.
Earlier this week, the NRCC released a list of 47 House Democrats that they hope to catch next year.
Emmer says the goal will be to talk about what interests regular voters, like the reopening of schools. He rejected the Democrats’ strategy of linking Republicans to the QAnon conspiracy theory and anything associated with Capitol disturbances.
The midterm elections have historically been a brake on the ruling party, and LaHood believes that “will be good news for us”.