GOP launches ‘pipeline’ to elevate state candidates

Two top Republican campaign committees are launching a “pipeline” to elevate state GOP candidates to Congress while keeping the party’s power at the state level.

The joint effort is between the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), which supports GOP candidates for down-ballot state-level offices, and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the campaign arm of House Republicans.

Under the agreement, the plans of which were first shared with The Hill, the RSLC formally commits to financial investments to replace Republican state lawmakers who run for Congress. The NRCC, in turn, commits to support mentorship programs with former state lawmakers now in Congress giving advice to the “next generation” of state lawmakers.

“Today’s state legislatures provide tomorrow’s Republican leadership in the House of Representatives,” NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with the RSLC to continue cultivating the type of Republican leadership we need to bring common sense back to Washington.”

Republicans have control of more state legislative seats and bodies than Democrats and hope to expand their reach in states this fall.

According to the RSLC, there are more than 100 GOP nominees for the House who are current or former state legislators, while 13 nonincumbent GOP nominees are current state lawmakers.

State lawmakers running for Congress who are participating in the NRCC’s “Young Guns” program include Kevin Kiley, a California state representative running in an open seat, and Jen Kiggans, a Virginia state senator challenging Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) in a highly competitive seat.

The more formalized partnership builds on the RSLC’s “Right Leader’s Network” launched last year, which aims to recruit more diverse candidates for office and includes a mentorship component with former state lawmakers who went on to higher office. Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson (Iowa) and Young Kim (Calif.) sit on the program’s advisory council.

“Given the fantastic track record Republicans have in advancing the conservative movement in state legislatures across the country, it’s no surprise that they make strong recruits for Congress,” RSLC President Dee Duncan said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of how many state legislators are making that jump this cycle, and we are committed to ensuring Republicans continue to hold the line in the states by retaining these critical seats. Doing so will allow us to deliver even more policy wins at the state level while replenishing our Party’s pipeline with leaders who will continue going on to transform the entire country for the better in Washington.”