11/09/00 8:45 a.m.
Club Wins!
Growth economics kept the House in GOP hands.

By Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth & NR contributing editor

ho says economically conservative candidates can't win? Even in this strange political environment, in which strong ideological convictions are perceived as a liability, pro-growth candidates can prevail.

Last night, the Club for Growth won 10 of 16 races, including six very tight House races that were critical in ensuring that the GOP held the House. These victories in tight battleground districts provide some pretty compelling evidence that Republicans can and do win when they run on an economically pro-growth agenda of tax cuts, Social Security choice, free trade, and smaller government.

They also underscore the success of the Club for Growth model of bundling contributions from our 1,500 members to outstanding candidates who find themselves locked in tight but winnable races.

The 6 Club for Growth candidates who won tight (and, in some cases, upset) victories were: Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania, Ric Keller of Florida, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Mike Pence of Indiana, Denny Rehberg of Montana, Mike Rogers of Michigan, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Earlier this year, the Club helped lift Reagan conservative Jeff Flake to victory in a crowded primary. Jeff won with 54 percent of the vote yesterday.

Alas, we lost some nail-biters. Senator Spence Abraham of Michigan was a terrible loss. John Koster of Washington State lost by less than 1,000 votes, but with absentee ballots he may yet be declared the victor. If we can double our membership by 2002, we'll win these nail-biters next time around.