Kochs’ Network Wrestles With Expectations for Presidential Primaries

Kochs’ Network Wrestles With Expectations for Presidential Primaries

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE at the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/us/politics/kochs-network-wrestles-with-expectations-for-presidential-primaries.html?smid=re-share

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DALLAS — The network overseen by Charles G. and David H. Koch has knocked on the doors of a million voters this year, elbowed aside some of the Republican Party’s top strategists and built one of the biggest fund-raising operations in politics.

But as 3,000 activists, dozens of big donors and a gaggle of presidential aspirants gathered here for a pre-election conference held by the network’s flagship political organization, Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ political operation is confronting the anxieties of influence.

Koch-backed organizations have largely steered clear of the bitter battles this year between establishment Republicans and Tea Party conservatives, instead encouraging Republicans to emphasize economic freedom and mounting well-financed attacks on Senate Democrats. Mindful of the failure of conservative groups to unseat President Obama in 2012, they have cleaned house, retooled their data efforts and grass-roots outreach, and cautioned donors that a Republican Senate majority will not be easily attainable.

Yet the Koch network’s growing importance to Republicans — its groups are planning to raise and spend a combined $300 million by Election Day — and its expanding grass-roots footprint have put pressure on it to become more aggressive in reshaping the Republican Party as 2016 approaches.

“The question is, once you build an army, shouldn’t you use it, if you’re going to remain relevant?” said Rick Wilson, a Florida-based Republican consultant who has worked with some organizations in the Koch network.


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