GOP megadonor Koch network snubs Dean Heller, 2 others

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to punch back at GOP mega-donor billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch after the Koch network let it be known over the weekend that it is not supporting key GOP candidates, including Nevada Sen. Dean Heller.

In an early morning tweet, Trump berated the brothers as globalists who “have become a total joke in real Republican circles.”

He added: “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”

The presidential insult followed a weekend gathering of Koch officials who repeatedly condemned Trump’s trade policies, the explosion of government spending under his watch and his divisive tone.

Responding to Trump’s social media attack, Koch spokesman James Davis was measured. “We support policies that help all people improve their lives. We look forward to working with anyone to do so,” he said.

As for Heller, he is one of three GOP Senate candidates snubbed by the Koch network, even as the Republicans are hustling to hold onto their slim 51-49 seat majority.

According to Politico, the other two are Mike Braun, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who is challenging Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. Both Democratic senators are considered highly vulnerable as voters in their states supported Trump in 2016 by a margin greater than 20 points.

Over the weekend, the Kochs’ political advocacy network announced it would not back the GOP candidate in the North Dakota Senate race. It has not made any announcement regarding Heller, though it is openly supporting another Republican candidate in Nevada — Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who is running for governor.

In April, Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity, told the Review-Journal that his group had not yet decided to support Heller because he did not vote for full repeal of Obamacare and because he did vote for the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill.

“I’m a little puzzled by that,” Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak told the Review Journal. He said he had trouble seeing how any conservative group would prefer Rep. Jacky Rosen, the Democratic challenger, over Heller.

Rosen spokeswoman Molly Forgey responded in a statement, “Sen. Heller is a spineless politician who can’t be counted on to stand by his convictions because he has no core values or principles outside of looking out for himself.”

In response to a request for comment, the Heller campaign released a statement that said Heller “has built the largest campaign in Nevada history, with thousands of grassroots supporters across the state committed to sharing his strong conservative record of accomplishments and delivering on issue after issue that Nevadans care about.”

Mackowiak thought it was odd for the Koch network to call out Heller’s vote on the $1.3 trillion spending bill after most Republicans supported it. As for Heller’s vote against a full repeal of Obamacare, Mackowiak noted that Heller did vote for the “skinny” repeal bill, a more “meaningful” repeal measure, even if both did fail.

Under Americans For Prosperity’s own rating system on votes made by members of Congress, Heller scores 92 percent this year, with a lifetime rating of 83 percent.

In this election year, Heller is one of many Republicans who want to survive as Trump and anti-Trump Republicans try to turn every federal race into a test of loyalty.

Trump and Heller butted heads during the president’s first year in office when the Nevada senator announced that he would not vote for a GOP bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Later, however, Heller voted in favor of a “skinny” bill that would have repealed Obamacare but provided Medicaid funding in block grants.

In between the two votes, Trump held a lunch in the White House where he seated Heller next to him and predicted Heller would vote for the second measure, adding, “Look, he wants to remain a senator, doesn’t he?”

When the GOP tax cut bill passed in December, Trump gave Heller a place of honor during a White House ceremony. And, at last month’s Nevada Republican convention, Trump pointedly thanked Heller for his tax cut vote.

Trump acknowledged that after a shaky beginning, Heller “was with me all the way.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.