there's a new sheriff in town
Republican strategists shocked by Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'stunning' endorsement power
If you can't get the backing of former President Donald Trump, perhaps that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will suffice.
According to four "longtime Republican operatives" working on competitive GOP primaries nationwide, an MTG endorsement is "not only considered as welcome, but also as one that should be actively courted," The Daily Beast reports, noting the congressmember's power lies in her direct line to the former president, as well as her large network of grassroots donors.
"It is stunning," one source told The Daily Beast. "Her popularity among much of the base and what she brings to a campaign right now is not nothing. Actually, it can be good for the candidate, and I don't know if I would have predicted that a year ago."
"If you can't get Donald Trump, you are going to want to have MTG in your back pocket," said another operative, who also "professed zero personal admiration for Greene," The Daily Beast notes.
At this point, at least seven Republican candidates have earned Greene's stamp of approval, including the "loudly pro-Trump" Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). Typically, Greene's been picking mostly challengers to Republicans who have broken from Trump, "either by impeaching him or criticizing him faintly, or even by working with Democrats," writes The Daily Beast.
"It's not that everyone is trying to get her endorsement, but … if you're running on 'Let's own the libs,' and 'Let's be culture warriors,' that's where you go," veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye told The Daily Beast. "One of the things we've seen over the past decade-plus now, but that Donald Trump really drove home, is that politics is performance art."
Added former Cobb County, Georgia GOP chair Jason Shepherd of Greene's now-coveted endorsement: "I did not see that coming when I first met Marjorie."