The Club for Growth is set to spend big time in 2024 on Republicans who took a principled stance against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The conservative group led by David McIntosh is prepping $20 million to defend the “Patriot 20,” who objected to McCarthy taking the position during the House speaker vote in January until he made a boat-load of conservative concessions. McCarthy won the speakership after a historic and contentious 15 rounds of voting that saw sparks flying in the House.

The targeted lawmakers in question will see these funds used to defend against primary and general election challenges in 2024, according to a memo from the Club for Growth provided to the Washington Examiner.

The “Patriot 20” consists of Eli Crane (R-AZ), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Andy Harris (R-MD), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Scott Perry (R-PA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Keith Self (R-TX), Chip Roy (R-TX), Michael Cloud (R-TX), and Bob Good (R-VA).

The priority for the Club for Growth is the five freshman members in the group which include Crane, Luna, Brecheen, Ogles, and Self. The other 15 members come second but the memo aggressively asserts that the group “will not compromise” in its defense of the incumbents in the primary.

“We are closely monitoring the reelection efforts of each conservative incumbent and will not hesitate to make independent expenditures to defeat moderate challengers. We will not compromise in our defense of these members,” the memo warned those Republicans seeking to punish the “Patriot 20” as well as Democrats.

The group of conservative lawmakers are primary targets for the Democratic Party which will look to capitalize on them standing firm while McCarthy went through the process of becoming House speaker. But they are also being targeted by moderate Republican PACs.

The Club for Growth’s memo noted that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would target Boebert, Luna, and Perry in the general election.

‘This is bulls**t!’ Speaker fight gets heated behind closed doors; McCarthy comes up short, prepares for ‘battle’ https://t.co/jWT74vuqw9 pic.twitter.com/M3kBwoEBDE

— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) January 3, 2023

Matt Gaetz sets House on fire, nominates Trump for Speaker, rages against ‘squatter’ McCarthy https://t.co/dgmcjzQHxE pic.twitter.com/oQ9NhYQY6y

— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) January 6, 2023

Furious Marjorie Taylor Greene unloads on ‘self-serving’ ‘so-called friends’ for opposing McCarthy https://t.co/CiBzpu6s5g

— American Wire News (@americanwire_) January 4, 2023

“Our primary role in the general election will be to help level the playing field against the Democrats’ spending advantage. We will do this by making independent expenditures with respect to conservative candidates targeted by the DCCC,” the memo stated.

Boebert is seen as especially vulnerable having defeated her Democratic challenger by less than 600 votes in Colorado last year. Her opponent, Democrat Adam Frisch, out-fundraised her by nearly $2 million in the second quarter of 2023. Boebert raised $818,000 and Frisch raked in a hefty $2.6 million.

Currently, the GOP holds the House by a slim majority of 222-212 and Republicans realize they are in for a real battle to hold onto it in 2024. That’s why Club for Growth is preemptively throwing word of its coffers around.

McIntosh warned that “moderate donor networks” were already mobilizing to punish the “Patriot 20.”

“Making our financial commitment public may serve as an effective deterrent to some potential challengers,” he wrote. “Moderate donors and candidates seeking to settle scores should save their money because we are prepared to win at all costs.”

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