Central Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers is mapping the House GOP’s 2018 midterm election battle like Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf planned the first Gulf War: First line up the funding, then recruit and train the troops and finally align with allies and take the field.
Unlike any other chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, approaching the fight with an officer’s eye comes natural to Stivers, who just a month ago was promoted to brigadier general in the Ohio National Guard.
We broke another record – raising $30 Million for the 2017 March Dinner! Thank you @POTUS for joining us last night. pic.twitter.com/RnZCqdr05x
— NRCC (@NRCC) March 22, 2017
“It’s part of who I am,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been in the Army 32 years, and my management style comes from the military because it’s what I know and what I’ve done,” added Stivers, who attended the Army War College.
Even before entering the campaign to defend the House majority and potentially 30 individual seats, he has taken a page from recent military history to line up key allies. House Speaker Paul Ryan has poured into the NRCC war chest a historic level of donations, $50 million since becoming speaker in 2015, and President Trump last week hosted a fundraising dinner that brought in a record-setting $30 million.
Those dollars, in addition to an already high level of fundraising at the NRCC under his chairmanship, amount to a “shock and awe budget,” said the four-term House member.
Happy Birthday to our Chairman @RepSteveStivers! We know you will lead House Republicans to victory in 2018! pic.twitter.com/82Jih1Pgpb
— NRCC (@NRCC) March 24, 2017
“I intend to hold onto and grow the majority,” he pledged. “I’ve devised a pretty simple strategy for the folks here for the 2018 election. It’s, and this is a technical term, raise a shit ton of money. No. 2, use that money to expand the playing field on the Democrats. There are 12 seats that Trump carried that the Democrats sit in,” he said, adding that 36 Democrats are being targeted.
It’s an uphill battle no matter how Patton-esque Stivers approaches 2018, since the average number of House seats lost by the party of a new president is about 30.
“I’m not ready to concede that we will lose seats,” he said.
“I believe in our legislative agenda. I believe in what we’re doing. We may lose some seats. My goal is to hold the majority, and grow where we can, and if we can pick up a few of those seats by expanding the playing field, we may be close to a net zero.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that incumbents aren’t going to lose because incumbents are going to lose, but my goal is to go after the other guys, too, and figure out how we can fight to somewhere near a draw.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
