WASHINGTON — In the territory Kevin McCarthy once ruled with a wooden, if limp, gavel, Republicans in the House of Representatives spent the week laughing off the former House speaker for meddling in GOP primaries — then getting walloped.
McCarthy and his allies were dealt a stunning defeat in the Palmetto State when Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) turned heads for destroying her Republican primary opponent by some 27 points.
McCarthy’s rarely at the Capitol, but this week, he found his name transformed into a punchline (again).
“Anybody that maintains that level of bitterness for that long, I feel sorry for ya,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) — one of the eight who last year helped end McCarthy’s speakership — told Raw Story at the Capitol this week.
McCarthy and his allies dropped more than $2 million on Mace’s race. But from day one, Mace told Raw Story, she wasn’t afraid of Team McCathy’s effort to get behind her opponent, Catherine Templeton, who served in former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s cabinet.
“She's a puppet to Kevin McCarthy,” Mace told Raw Story this spring. “Like, that doesn't sell in my district. My district wants someone who's going to be conservative but an independent voice.”
Even with millions of dollars in outside spending flooding her opponent from McCarthy-allied super PAC American Prosperity Alliance, Mace still demolished Templeton on Tuesday.
Even Republicans who like McCarthy weren’t impressed with his poor primary showing.
“I don't think it’s personal — well, with McCarthy, it probably was personal,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) — a friend of Mace — told Raw Story. “She stuck in there and had a message.”
Other members of the so-called “Gaetz Eight” say McCarthy miscalculated when crossing Mace at home.
“Not surprising. She's a great candidate,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told Raw Story.
Her win was never guaranteed. Mace has had a complicated history with GOP leaders, namely, former President Donald Trump, who called her “crazy” and “a terrible person” during the 2022 midterms.
This time around, Mace netted Trump’s endorsement. Burchett says Mace’s independent streak makes her formidable.
“She's fiery, and everybody alway says things like, ‘Oh, I can't believe that person did this or did that’ — I mean, from their perspective, but she represents her people and her people apparently like her,” Burchett said.
McCarthy may net a win in Virginia this week
The saga’s far from over. McCarthy and his allies are still gunning to oust members of the gang of eight who ended his speakership. Next on the list: Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA).
On June 18, Republicans in Virginia’s 5th District will decide Good’s fate when they cast their primary ballots either for him or state Sen. John McGuire.
After Good backed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in this year’s Republican presidential primary — before declaring his allegiance to Trump once DeSantis threw in the proverbial towel — McGuire netted Trump’s endorsement.
The race has attracted a staggering $20 million in outside spending, with McGuire slightly edging out Good in fundraising — $1.2 million to $1.1 million as of the end of May. Pundits are closely watching the race to see if McCarthy and company can knock out one of the Republicans who ingloriously retired him.
Still, Good says, bring it on.
“I don't think the people of the 5th District are gonna let their seat be bought by D.C.-California swamp interests, but that's clearly who's funding my opponent’s campaign,” Good told Raw Story earlier this year.
In Florida, the former speaker’s aides vetted Aaron Dimmock before the Navy veteran announced a late challenge to McCarthy’s forever foe, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Florida’s primary for its congressional delegation is Aug. 20. While Gaetz now has to beat back a challenge, he was this week laughing McCarthy off after the former speaker and his allies got “smoked in the low country of South Carolina.”
Still, Gaetz feels the challenge in his own backyard, though he says he’s undeterred.
“We’ve been outspent four, five, nine-to-one,” Gaetz said. “The people are coming. My movement is coming. We’re hot on their heels.”