WASHINGTON – Tea Party leaders will call on House Republicans to come together around strong conservative candidates during their upcoming leadership elections as part of a broader push to avoid the types of infighting and divisions that have hamstrung the movement in recent years.
According to sources familiar with the situation, several leading Tea Party groups have begun circulating a draft letter to Republicans, underscoring the need to make sure conservatives are elected to House leadership. The letter, which they plan to send to members as early as Wednesday, is part of the behind-the-scenes effort to get outside groups and House members to present a united front.
"It's all hands on deck right now," said one prominent tea party group leader. "We've got a come-to-Jesus moment for all of us."
Although unhappiness with outgoing Speaker John Boehner is nearly universal amongst conservatives, activists and their allies in the House have repeatedly stymied their own agenda because of infighting, something they are hoping to avoid this time around.
At the same time, conservatives are still working out who they ultimately want to see fill the Majority Leader and Majority Whip slots — two of the most powerful positions in the House. In order to facilitate that process, they also are pushing to delay leadership elections to have more time to coalesce around their favorite candidates and also turn up the heat on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to continue to rally the base against establishment Republicans.
"There's a lot of education going on right now. Lot of moving parts," a second Tea Party leader said.
Emboldened not just by Boehner's decision to step down, but also by polls in the presidential race that show political outsiders like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina ahead of GOP establishment favorites, conservatives are looking at the next few weeks as a potential turning point for the tea party movement based on how the GOP leadership shakes out.
Although many are still openly grumbling about a lack of a strong contender from the conservative wing to challenge Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for the speakership, there's an understanding that the focus needs to be on the majority leader race, where conservatives see a better shot at at getting one of their own into the top ranks.
Groups like TheTeaParty.Net, which used to organize the Tea Party Caucus meetings in the Capitol, have already lined up behind Rep. Tom Price for the No. 2 position. "We are very supportive of Tom Price, who we think would be a great majority leader," Niger Innis, chairman of the group, told BuzzFeed News.
Price, who has locked up a few key endorsements including one from Rep. Paul Ryan, is competing against Majority Whip Steve Scalise for the slot. There's also an effort to draft Rep. Trey Gowdy — who some see as a candidate conservatives could more easily rally behind — to run for majority leader. Gowdy has said he is not interested in running for the position, but members continue to float his name as an option.
But despite the grassroots dissatisfaction over McCarthy — "Boehner's right-hand man" or "minion" as some activists are labeling him — likely becoming speaker, a few tea party leaders pointed to "a stark contrast" in the tone McCarthy has adopted in recent days compared to Boehner when it comes to dealing with conservatives.
In an interview with CNN Tuesday, McCarthy went so far as to praise conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz. "Ted Cruz is healthy for this party, just as every other Republican is healthy for this party," he said. "And I want more people to be part of the Republican party."
Activists view McCarthy's tone as a sign that the California Republican is much more aware of the need to have a good relationship with conservatives than Boehner ever was.
"When Kevin was a Republican leader here, everybody felt included," said Sal Russo, chairman of Tea Party Express, which is based in Sacramento. "That's what was lacking with Boehner. McCarthy's personality is different. He's good at bringing people together."
The House Freedom Caucus, Tea Party Caucus, and Conservative Opportunity Society — three conservative groups within the House — are expected to soon start interviewing McCarthy and Rep. Daniel Webster, candidates for speaker.
Many of those House members have been in regular communication with outside conservative groups and are touting the meetings as the first real chance since the tea party wave in 2010 to have a debate on who the leaders of the party should be.
"(McCarthy's) going to have to have a plan to restore trust not just with our caucus but with the our voters," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, who is a member of the Freedom Caucus.
"The message in all this was, 'Fire John Boehner,' so he quit. But it's not as easy as moving people around. You gotta actually talk about changing policy. You gotta talk about principles."