Thad Cochran's Allies Consider Scaling Back Their Support

The NRSC, for its part, is claiming they're "All In" on Cochran, but others are considering pulling the plug.

According to several Republican sources, leaders of pro-Cochran outside groups were meeting Wednesday to discuss strategy going forward after McDaniel narrowly finished in first place in the primary with 49.6 percent of the vote. Sources raised the possibility that Cochran's supporters might shift their focus to other contests now.

American Crossroads, for one, announced Wednesday afternoon that it wouldn't get involved in the contentious runoff. "We have completed our work on Senate primaries this cycle ... this is not our fight," spokesman Paul Lindsay said. Crossroads didn't air ads in the primary, but it donated $120,000 to the pro-Cochran super PAC Mississippi Conservatives, according to Henry Barbour, the nephew of former Gov. Haley Barbour, who runs the group.

In another article I read (but can't remember where it was), Establishment-types said they'd have preferred if Cochran had just lost outright, rather than be forced into the expensive and possibly even-nastier runoff.

posted by Ace at 06:24 PM

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