Even Trump-supporting 'hardline conservatives' are being purged by MAGA purists: report

18 March 2024

Many Never Trump conservatives have argued that if Republicans go too far to the right in U.S. House races, they risk being replaced by Democrats in swing districts. Yet MAGA Republicans aren't backing down from their push for what they consider MAGA purity.

In an article published on March 18, Daily Beast reporters Sam Brodey and Reese Gorman emphasize that even "hardline conservatives" are at risk of being labeled RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and being ousted from the U.S. House of Representatives via aggressive GOP primary challenges.

Brodey and Gorman cite Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois) as a perfect example. As pro-Trump and far to the right as Bost is, they observe, he is facing a "brutal political dogfight" with hyper-MAGA primary challenger Darren Bailey.

"Some of the incumbents are familiar primary targets, like Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE), considered among the most centrist members of the GOP conference," the Daily Beast reporters explain. "Some are being challenged simply because they aren't loud or combative enough — or even if they cast a vote in favor of funding the government, which is now a punishable offense in the MAGA base."

Brodey and Gorman continue, "But many are as conservative and Trump-supporting as Bost, if not more so. Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), who has a 95 percent lifetime score from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, is facing an aggressive primary challenge. Some arch-conservatives are being targeted because they backed Ron DeSantis for president, like Reps. Bob Good (R-VA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), while others are being challenged in part because they didn't support Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in his bid for the House speakership last fall."

The journalists point out that many of the GOP primary challengers "hail from the far-right fringes of the party."

The Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman told the Beast, "The threshold of what it takes to offend Republican primary voters has fallen lower."

According to Republican strategist Ken Spain, the MAGA fringe expects Republicans to be as Trump-like as possible.

Spain told the Beast, "Many of the Republicans in the House have taken on a Trump-like persona, where you either fight to the death, or you're simply not committed to the cause — and that's what we’re seeing play out."

Read The Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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