Key GOP senator: Republicans ‘need to learn’ from Alabama Senate race

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Wednesday that Republicans need to learn from the GOP primary runoff in Alabama, where Sen. Luther Strange (R) lost to a conservative challenger.

“We’ve had what I would say [are] similar but not the same challenges before, for example with the advent of the Tea Party following 2010 and primaries. And I just think we need to learn from this experience and be prepared,” said Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, when asked about his takeaway from Tuesday’s election.

Strange, who was appointed in February to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, lost to Roy Moore, a former state Supreme Court chief justice supported by former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, by more than 9 percentage points.

{mosads}His defeat marked a setback for the GOP establishment, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies, who invested time and millions of dollars to try to help Strange win.

Cornyn added that Republicans are “listening and watching very closely” to understand the race’s “message.”

“It’s not news that we have sort of an outsider vs. insider challenge. … But I think other senators will be prepared … from having served on a longer period of time and be better known to their voters,” he said.

Though Senate Republicans have a favorable election map — defending eight seats to the Democrats’ 25 — they are facing a slate of heated primary fights that could pit conservative challengers against incumbents.

Kelli Ward, who is challenging Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for the GOP nomination, immediately seized on Moore’s primary victory, saying “Senate leadership should take note of what has transpired in Alabama and end their dishonest attacks against me.”

McConnell has pledged that he and his allies will work to influence GOP primaries in an effort to stop a repeat of 2010 and 2012, when some hard-line conservative candidates defeated incumbents from the GOP establishment in party primaries only to lose general elections.

But conservatives and outside groups, which were already dissatisfied with McConnell, are redoubling their efforts to try to challenge the Kentucky Republican’s power over the Senate races and within the conference.

McConnell’s allies have downplayed the notion that the Alabama race, or a failed attempt to repeal ObamaCare, have had an impact on his standing in the caucus. McConnell was reelected to the top spot unanimously last year during a closed-door meeting.

Cornyn, asked if McConnell was becoming “harmful” for Republicans, added, “No; I’d hate to think about where we would be without Senator McConnell’s efforts.”