A PAC affiliated with George W. Bush’s nephew has picked its top candidates for this election cycle.
Members of Maverick PAC — which is helmed by Republican Texas land commissioner nominee George P. Bush, healthcare company Pulmonary Rx president Jay Zeidman, and others — gathered in D.C. this weekend for their annual conference. At a meeting on Thursday night, they announced five top candidates whom their members will prioritize: Arkansas Senate nominee Tom Cotton, Colorado Senate nominee Cory Gardner, and House candidates Elise Stefanik, Carl DeMaio and Will Hurd.
George P. isn’t Cotton’s only fan in the Bush family. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Laura Bush has given to only two candidates this cycle: Cotton, and Virginia Republican Senate nominee Ed Gillespie.
At the event, Sen. Rob Portman, the Ohio Republican, told attendees that he thinks the Senate races in New Hampshire and Virginia are more competitive than they look.
Mav PAC’s leaders say the group, which has chapters around the country, angles to organize young conservative professionals, focusing on races where their contributions can be most effective. It raised more than $1.5 million for the 2012 election cycle.
Their conference this weekend featured a host of conservative and center-right luminaries, including Portman, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, RNC Chair Reince Priebus, and American Conservative Union Foundation chair Carly Fiorna. Blackwater founder Erik Prince spoke at the event on Friday.
“We’re like … Charlie Brown trying to kick the football every time, and they keep taking it away,” he said, per the Daily Beast’s Asawin Suebsaeng. “I encourage the Republican Party to get off their ass and fight like we pay them to.”
