The Club for Growth Distances Itself More From Trump

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WASHINGTON — The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group that has spent nearly $150 million over the past two election cycles, has invited a half-dozen potential Republican presidential candidates to its annual donor retreat next year. that month — but not Donald J. Trump.

At a press conference Monday, David McIntosh, the group’s president, said the Republicans’ chances of winning the White House again next year would be diminished if Mr. Trump is again at the top of the ticket and he hopes to introduce Republican donors to other possibilities.

“The party should be open to another candidate,” Mr. McIntosh said, suggesting that Republicans have already lost too many elections in which Mr. Trump is the face of the party.

Mr. Trump and the Washington-based Club for Growth have been frequent foils during the 2022 midterms, supporting opposing candidates in several high-profile primary contests, including Senate races in Ohio and Pennsylvania. When the group began campaigning last year against JD Vance, Mr. Trump’s pick in Ohio, the former president instructed an aide to text Mr. McIntosh a vulgar message.

On the eve of Mr. Trump’s presidential announcement in November, the group released internal polls that showed the former president trailing Gov. Florida’s Ron DeSantis in Republican primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. (So ​​far, Mr. Trump is the only declared candidate in the race, but President Biden is expected to be re-elected.)

The Run-Up to the 2024 Election The jockeying for the next presidential race is underway.

Mr. McIntosh insisted that there is no personal animosity guiding the group’s interest in seeking another option for the nomination in 2024. Instead, he said that Mr. Trump proved toxic to voters in the general election, adding that Republicans lost elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022 on the former president’s watch.

Mr. Trump’s standing among Republicans declined in public opinion polls in November and December. In addition to being largely blamed for the Republicans’ disappointing midterm season, he also came under fire after hosting a private dinner — a week after his campaign announcement — with Kanye West, who was accused of making antisemitic remarks. statement, and Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and prominent young white supremacist.

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He reported a less-than-stellar fund-raising haul in his first campaign finance report last week, another sign that his grip on some conservatives may be loosening. And the donor network created by billionaire industrialist brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch is preparing to take part in the 2024 presidential primaries, with the goal of turning the page on Mr. Trump.

However, Mr. remains the front-runner. Trump for his party’s presidential nomination, and his typical fundraising strength lies with small-dollar donors. And, if he gets his third consecutive nomination, Mr. McIntosh that his group will support him against Mr. Biden in 2024. With the bid of Mr. Trump’s presidency in 2016, the Club for Growth initially opposed him, but later got on board.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump declined to comment and instead pointed to three social media posts two weeks ago in which the former president repeatedly attacked the club, including one that referred to the group and Mr. DeSantis as “globalists.”

On Monday, Mr. McIntosh spoke highly of Mr. DeSantis and provided reporters with internal polls that showed the Florida governor losing to Mr. Trump in a head-to-head primary matchup, but the poll followed with a wider, hypothetical field of seven. candidates. Mr. DeSantis, who won re-election last year, has not said whether he will run for president in 2024.

said Mr. McIntosh invited Mr. DeSantis at his group’s donor retreat, along with five other non-Trump potential candidates in his group’s poll: former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

Mr. refused. McIntosh to say whether any other contenders have accepted invitations to the retreat, which is scheduled to be held in Florida, home of Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis.

Mr. McIntosh said Republicans underperformed last year in part because of abortion issues, but also in part because of Mr. Trump. He said the former president’s insistence on supporting candidates who repeated his lies about the 2020 election shocked voters, who viewed Republican candidates as “future Trumps.”

“Trump is on the ballot,” Mr. McIntosh said. “So I’m worried that when we go into a general election, if Trump is the nominee, they’re going to get a share of the Republican vote.”

Asked if he thinks Mr. Trump is Mr. Biden, Mr. McIntosh said, “Anything is possible.”

“The last three elections show that he lost,” he added.

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