Republicans are exposing their own inability to govern in the 2024 election campaign.

rare primary The intervention is the result of an ongoing intra-party dispute over what or who can bring about a “governing majority”.Republicans have a supermajority in the House of Representatives, giving all factions the power to advance policy. their Some argue that the request sometimes jeopardizes consensus among conservatives and weakens Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate and the White House. And debates over policy are becoming increasingly personal.

On the one hand, far-right lawmakers say they will push back against colleagues they believe are too quick to compromise, rather than fight for a long-term conservative victory, even if that fight leads to a government shutdown. I support candidates I believe in. Ordinary conservatives, on the other hand, want to oust hardliners who they see as obstacles to policymaking and instead prioritize political spectacle. For example, use a narrow majority to oust the Speaker of the House, sink procedural votes, and force reliance on Republicans. The Democratic Party is pushing for a bill that must be passed.

It is thought that if either side could grow its ranks, it would be able to govern more effectively.

On Tuesday night, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) defeated challenger Darren Bailey, who was supported by far-right Reps. Mary E. Miller (R-Ill.) and Matt Gaetz. It was a narrow defeat, with a traditional Republican victory (R-Florida). The Florida firebrand tried to unseat Mr. Bost, a five-term congressman who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee, and frustrated Mr. Bailey, but Mr. Bost “had a tailwind.” Still, he said the hard work paid off because the primaries were so close. Support for Donald Trump. ”

“I hope Mike Bost wins the November election. But the momentum we’re showing against the incumbents is prevailing. It’s growing,” Gates said.

Gates denied that his interest in Bost was personal. But several Republicans noted that there has been tension between the two men ever since Bost berated Gaetz during the speakership race of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in early 2023. Then, a few months later, when McCarthy was fired, Bost attacked Gaetz behind closed doors.

Gaetz, who started the effort to remove McCarthy, is at the forefront of a far-right movement seeking to elect more MAGA Republicans to Congress. Last week, he stumbled in San Antonio, endorsing Brandon Herrera, who is challenging second-term U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas). Gonzalez’s crime, Gaetz and Herrera said, was that he was one of 14 House Republicans to sponsor bipartisan gun control legislation.The bill was introduced after 19 children and two teachers were murdered. at Robb Elementary School in Gonzales, Uvalde. district. Gonzalez has often voted on the far right, but his opponents have focused on his vote to codify protections for same-sex marriage and his passionate opposition to border legislation introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). has also been pointed out.

“My big complaint is that you elected a Republican majority in the House, but I think we should reconsider that from time to time. I think we just have to try and use the leverage. We need to make it work,” Gaetz said at a rally in San Antonio. “We now have the House of Representatives as our only node of power, and we are increasingly willing to give up more and do less to advance the policies of the Biden administration.”

Gonzalez said he understands that voters are uncomfortable because they feel “worse than they were a few years ago,” but accused Gaetz and Herrera of trying to capitalize on those feelings. did.

“A lot of these guys here, you know, are scammers. They’re complete and utter scams. They don’t mean anything,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of it is about likes. It’s about retweets. It’s almost camera time. they are selfish people. ”

Many pragmatic Republicans privately agree with Mr. Gonzalez, blaming the majority for their inability to govern. hardliner I don’t want to compromise with the members of my council.Johnson himself has accepted in recent weeks. that Many on the right won’t relent until they get everything they want, which contributed to his decision to ignore them in government funding negotiations.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who, as the House majority party’s vote-counter and often bears the brunt of personal disagreements among members, said, “People don’t always like each other.” “Not really,” he admits. He has tried to convince lawmakers that attacking each other will only hinder progress.

“If we get rid of our Republican colleagues, we won’t have anyone to help us move the needle that got us here,” Emmer said. I remember telling one Republican who was adamant that we had to fight harder. “If you want to change the way your workplace works, you have to do the hard work of building relationships and gaining respect. That will move the needle.”

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said he didn’t think it was “beneficial to the team” for members to participate in primaries, telling his colleagues “to defeat the Democrats.” encouraged them to spend their time and energy on

However, hardliners have not hesitated to publicly denounce their colleagues’ acceptance. Rather than fully implementing conservative campaign promises that swayed voters to win a majority during the midterm elections, it will bring about incremental changes. Democrats took advantage of this, pushing out ads using Republicans’ own words to argue that Republicans can’t govern.

“I want to put all my energy into fighting the Democrats,” Gaetz told Herrera supporters. “But if there are Republicans who vote like Democrats, act like Democrats, and dress like Democrats in drag, I’ll lead the fight against them too.”

When Mr. Gaetz was campaigning for Mr. Gonzalez’s opponent last week, Mr. Johnson bluntly said: to a group of Republicans gathered for an annual training camp in West Virginia, according to people present who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of private conversations. , said he believed campaigning against colleagues was wrong and counterproductive and should be avoided.

Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.C.) explained why he believes Republicans shouldn’t campaign with each other given “the situation we’re in.” “I welcome a conversation with Speaker Johnson. “Where has competition caused harm?” he argued. who? ”

Mr. Norman plans to support Adam Morgan, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and chairman of the state’s Freedom Caucus, against Mr. Trump-backed Rep. William Timmons (RS.C.). I told you. Norman told Timmons that although he has a conservative background, he is “going with the status quo.” Another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Josh Brechen (R-Okla.), also endorsed Morgan.

“Anytime you can improve a conservative’s voting record with someone who stands up for themselves, you do it. Whether it’s the football team or the basketball team, you do it,” Norman said. . “I strongly believe that if people don’t change, our country, our constitutional republic, will not exist.”

Far-right Republicans say it will help strengthen the fight, but other rank-and-file lawmakers see it as blocking the convention from enacting legislation. Early in their majority, Republicans were able to pass several conservative bills in the House, knowing the Democratic Senate would not take them up. But when it came to legislation that needed to pass the Senate and be signed by President Biden, hardliners often complicated the process.

“We’re trying to change the status quo, but to do that in a divided government…we have to be willing to accept incremental progress along the way. As they say in football, first Get a few downs. Move the ball,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas), a pragmatic conservative who recently defeated a right-wing primary challenger. “But apparently we don’t want to accept anything other than what we collectively want to do.”

other Republicans have targeted Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, for continuing to vote against the majority and supporting ousting Mr. McCarthy. The Main Street Partnership, the conservative campaign arm of the Main Street Caucus, invested $500,000 to support John J. McGuire against Good. June primaries. Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of the partnership, said McGuire, a former Navy SEAL who attended a pro-Trump rally on the National Mall on Jan. 6, 2021, has a governing majority. He said it justifies the investment needed to build it.

“We want to pass more than 29 bills. We want to govern and we’re being blocked from doing that,” Chamberlain said. “Good is no to everything.”

Goode defended his actions, saying Republicans should “stop doing anything worth saying no to.” He also wished the roughly a dozen MPs who attended McGuire’s fundraiser “good luck” and encouraged them to dare to campaign publicly for their opponents, which Goode said was “unlikely”. I think it will really help.”

Main Street Partnership is not currently targeting other incumbents, but helped elect Michael Lulli as Republican candidate for Ohio’s open House seat against more MAGA candidate Reggie Stoltzfus Ta. The group’s members also spoke to President Trump about publicly supporting Republicans the far right is considering targeting, including 13-term Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), and said they would There are also moves to support the protection of members of Congress. Johnson and Hudson also asked Trump to support Bost during a visit to Mar-a-Lago last month, according to people familiar with the request.

Although McCarthy is no longer in office, he has become a litmus test for both wings. Ask the candidates: Would you have voted to expel McCarthy from the chair?

Mr. Chamberlain said this begs the question for Mr. McGuire and other candidates supported by the group about whether they will vote with a majority of the conference.

Norman said he asked Timmons if he would have voted to fire McCarthy. Mr. Norman did not vote to remove Mr. McCarthy, but expressed concern that Mr. Timmons said no and accused the eight people who supported Mr. McCarthy’s removal of doing so for personal gain. did.

Republican lawmakers who want an end to intra-party attacks argue that party members can get away with such actions because of a lack of punishment from leadership. But lawmakers and leaders say such penalties will only embolden far-right lawmakers, who can survive elections without having to serve on committees or rely on state funding. We informally acknowledge that we can.

Internal conflicts are expected to continue. Womack said with a sigh that the reality is that the fight “just reflects the divisions that are going on in our country right now, and the House reflects that.”

“Ultimately, I think the real test will come in November, when voters will decide whether we deserve a majority. “I think it’s based on America’s perception of whether they’ve done well with the majority,” he said. “I think we failed to function as a true governing majority and fell far short of America’s expectations. That’s why we have elections. We’ll sort these things out.”

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Theodoric Meyer and Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.