Triage: Speaker Johnson CLF PAC Pulls Spending on LiPetri’s NY-03 Bid

There was a dream that Republicans could once again run the tables this cycle as they did in 2022, winning the four Long Island House seats on the coattails of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik—and her successful run for governor.

All of that was thrown aside for the gubernatorial candidacy of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, whose coattails should be sufficient to keep Nassau County Republicans competitive.

Now, we are in triage season.

In 2022, GOP gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin won NY-03 with 54 percent to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 46 percent.

It is that time when party leadership decides not to throw good money after bad, and by bad, I mean, of course, Michael J. LiPetri, who just got the news that the Congressional Leadership Fund, run by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and MAGA Inc., run by President Donald J. Trump, have pulled the plug.

What it really means is that the two groups are no longer buying ads, so the LiPetri campaign is free to continue its plans against Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi, just without the air cover.

Two years ago, LiPetri lost to Suozzi 52 percent to 46 percent, but that year, Trump won the district 51 percent to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 47 percent—the only time in his three presidential campaigns he took NY-03.

It is almost cruel to mention that in 2022, George Santos won NY-03 by eight points, 54 percent to Robert Zimmerman’s 46 percent.

Johnson’s CLF also pulled the plug on at least six other races, two in the tri-state area, New Jersey’s Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr. and Upstate state Sen. Peter K. Oberacker Jr.

Oberacker deserves credit for taking on Democrat Rep. Josh Riley, a tough shot in a midterm.

As for Kean? We still are not really sure what happened there. From March through June, he missed more than 100 votes. During his absence, Kean, his staff and family circled the wagons, allowing Johnson to volunteer to reporters that there was a medical condition.

Eventually, Kean emerged, and he explained that he was being treated for depression.

Today, House Republicans hold a 218-to-214 majority with one independent voting with Republicans and two vacancies due to resignations, one from each party.

When the votes are counted after the Nov. 3 Election Day, we will know what congressmen are returning to private life.

Most certainly, if the House Republican losses are significant enough, Johnson will be returned to the backbenches. Johnson is a movement conservative and Trump supporter, but for the next session, the House Republican Conference will choose between Louisiana’s Majority Leader Stephen J. Scalise or Minnesota’s Majority Whip Thomas R. Emmer Jr.

The smart money is on Emmer because he and his team are the ones who have the day-to-day relationships with the individual House Republicans.

Scalise is popular and very well-respected for his personal story, surviving both cancer and gunshot wounds, but his moment passed. It is brutal that his health challenges kept him from taking his shot to lead the GOP in the lower chamber, but this is the way it goes.

When Emmer takes over, it will signal the victory of experience and competence over ideological purity and loyalty to the president.