5 Republicans who should be scared of Karl Rove

The GOP strategist is trying to purge his party of extreme candidates

TV reporter Geraldo Rivera, who may run for Senate, appears on Fox on Aug. 24, 2012.
(Image credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

After a disastrous election cycle for his super PAC, Karl Rove announced he's forming a new group — the Conservative Victory Project — with the sole purpose of ensuring that "electable candidates" emerge from the Republican primaries.

Rove pointed to candidates last year in Missouri and Indiana as justification for his new group. Rep. Todd Akin (R) and Richard Mourdock (R) both made extreme comments on rape and abortion that Rove and his allies believe caused the GOP to lose winnable races. The comments also hurt the Republican brand more broadly.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Taegan Goddard

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA TodayBoston Globe, San Francisco ChronicleChicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.