The Club for Growth — the D.C.-based conservative advocacy group focused on cutting taxes and other economic issues — is for the first time in its 16-year history calling on its members to donate to a presidential campaign.
But they’re not being exclusive, announcing that there are five of the 17 candidates in the GOP presidential race that they will bundle campaign contributions for — Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Scott Walker. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“Five candidates are at the forefront of the Republican presidential field on issues of economic freedom, and the Club for Growth PAC is standing with them to help them stand out from the rest,” said David McIntosh, president of the Club, told The Journal. He praised Rubio (along with Senators Paul and Cruz) for their records on “pro-growth issues,” and said Bush “amassed a solid record on tax cuts as governor of Florida.”
The Club for Growth often gets involved in political races, but it’s usually with congressional races. For example, in the Florida GOP Senate primary race, it has already endorsed Jacksonville U.S. Sen. Ron DeSantis.
McIntosh says the group has no plans to formally endorse a single candidate in the race for the Republican nomination. However, he says the Club for Growth will make an effort to take down front-runner Donald Trump. The Journal reports that the Club intends to publish position papers to illustrate what it says are Trump’s “flaws as a fiscal conservative and advocate for free markets.”
