John Bolton has endorsed eight Republican candidates in key races for the GOP, and will contribute $40,000 total among the candidates. The former ambassador to the United Nations has supported 15 GOP candidates in this election cycle thus far.
On Tuesday, Bolton endorsed Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Ron Johnson, R-Wisc.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Pat Toomey, R-Penn. He also backed three GOP congressmen, including Reps. Barbara Comstock, R-Va.; Will Hurd, R-Texas; and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.
“It is my principle concern to ensure that these GOP senators and representatives win their upcoming elections so they can safeguard America’s security and prosperity in today’s fast-changing global environment,” Bolton said in a statement.
During the 2014 midterm election cycle, Bolton’s political action committee and super PAC raised more than $7.5 million and endorsed 87 Republican candidates across the country. In 2015, he decided not to enter the Republican field of presidential candidates, hoping instead to influence the race behind the scenes.
He is endorsing these candidates now, according to the release, in order to “ensure each candidate has the necessary early backing to campaign during the pre-primary period.” A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday showed Toomey performing better than expected in Pennsylvania, but Portman faltering behind former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio by six percentage points.
Portman’s campaign insists it is not concerned. In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner, Portman’s campaign manager Corry Bliss indicated that Strickland’s lead in the new poll was driven by his name ID. He noted that Portman trailed his Democratic opponent by 15 percentage points in a 2009 Quinnipiac poll, before he won by 18 percentage points the following year.
“We’re eager to compare Rob’s record of results for Ohio workers with Governor Strickland’s awful tenure as governor,” Bliss said in a statement. “Ohio voters know they can’t afford a return to the days of Ted Strickland, and we are confident they will deny him another term in office just as they did in 2010.”
In 2010, the Tea Party movement ushered in a Republican resurgence in Congress, and in 2014 the GOP took control of both chambers. The new poll shows Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate trailing in Ohio and Florida, despite President Obama’s underwater approval rating in both states, which will likely to function as swing states in the 2016 presidential election. The early poll could serve as a marker for Republicans regarding their chances to win the White House and keep the Senate.
