McClatchy News is reporting Kevin Nicholson, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has received the endorsement of Great America PAC, a group with ties to Steve Bannon, the former White House political adviser and Breitbart website publisher. To receive the support of Bannon, Nicholson committed to voting for someone other than Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, as Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate.
Kevin supports term limits for himself and the full Senate, including leadership,” Nicholson spokesman Michael Antonopoulos told McClatchy News. “The conservative grassroots–and Americans across the board–strongly believe that career politicians aren’t getting the job done and that we need new leaders and fresh ideas in Washington. Kevin could not agree more.”
McConnell has been the leader of the Republicans in the Senate since 2006 and successfully blocked President Barack Obama from filling a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. President Donald Trump filled that vacancy with Justice Neil Gorsuch,
McConnell has recently been under fire from the pro-Trump wing of the Republican Party since he was unable to get the votes together to pass Trump’s replacement of Obamacare this year.
Bannon was one of the most controversial members of the Trump team as the administration took office because of his embrace of the Alt-Right as publisher of Breitbart and his views on trade. It is unknown how much difference an endorsement from the Bannon-related group will mean in the Republican Senate Primary in Wisconsin. Bannon backed Paul Nehlen without suceess in a primary challenge to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI1.
Republicans in Wisconsin were also slow to embrace Trump during the Republican presidential candidate selection process, choosing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz instead in the 2016 Wisconsin Presidential Primary Election.
Nicholson’s rival for the Republican nomination, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, also met with Bannon, according to various accounts.
The endorsement of Nicholson continues a pattern, with prominent organizations like Club for Growth and individuals like former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton endorsing Nicholson while Vukmir continues to get endorsements from Wisconsin elected officials more familiar with her conservative record.
