Scoop: Cole backed up by House Approps members in GOP primary
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House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is getting a financial assist from his panel's members as he faces a well-funded primary challenge from his right flank.
Why it matters: Cole's opponent, insurance executive Paul Bondar, is able to self-fund his campaign and thus give the decades-long congressional veteran a potential run for his money.
- Cole and several supportive, GOP establishment-aligned PACs have reportedly poured money into the race to secure his reelection.
Driving the news: Cole's campaign is hosting a June 27 "Drinks and Cigars" fundraiser in Washington, D.C., featuring a dozen of his Appropriations Committee colleagues, according to an invitation obtained by Axios.
- Among the lawmakers are five Appropriations subcommittee chairs: Reps. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.).
- The cost of a ticket runs from $750 for an "individual attend" to $2,5000 for a "PAC host," according to the invite.
Catch up quick: Cole, the former chair of the House Rules Committee, stepped into the Appropriations Committee role in April after Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) relinquished her gavel.
- He has served in Congress since 2003 from a firmly Republican seat in South Central Oklahoma, consistently winning reelection by comfortable margins.
- A loyal ally of House Republican leadership, Cole has a solidly conservative voting record but is considered a bipartisan dealmaker and "moderate institutionalist" who is well respected on both sides of the aisle.
State of play: Despite Cole being endorsed by former President Trump, Bondar has attacked him as a creature of the Washington "swamp" and a Republican in name only.
- Bondar, who has faced severe doubts about his residency, reportedly launched a $400,000 ad buy against Cole last month. A Cole ally told Roll Call they expect Bondar to spend as much as $6 million.
- Cole himself had amassed a nearly $2 million war chest as of the end of March, with an outside group pouring another $2 million into opposing Bondar, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
- Several other center-right and GOP establishment PACs are also spending significant sums to support Cole, Roll Call reported.
