Wilson to stump for GOP candidates

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who’s become the GOP’s sharpest fundraising tool since his now-infamous “You lie!” outburst, will be hitting the campaign trail on behalf of multiple congressional candidates as early as this weekend.

Wilson told The Hill that he’ll spend the upcoming weekend traveling back and forth between South Carolina, Michigan and Missouri to stump and raise money for Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and former Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.).

Blunt, who gave up his post as the Republican whip at the beginning of the 111th Congress, is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Kit Bond (R). Walberg is trying to regain the Michigan Seventh Congressional District seat he lost to Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) last year.

Since shouting “You lie!” during President Obama’s healthcare address before a joint session of Congress earlier this month, Wilson has raised close to $2 million for his own race. And despite being formally admonished by the House for the incident, Wilson’s name has been used to bring in millions more for a Republican Party intent on capitalizing on the well-demonstrated anger of many voters to take back control of Congress in 2010.
 
Now Wilson himself will begin hitting the trail for individual candidates, and his appearances on behalf of Blunt and Walberg will be just the beginning, he said.

Wilson described his upcoming travel plans as “miserable,” but was adamant that he’s dedicated to the cause and is fully embracing all that his new national role entails.

“I’m not complaining. I’m not complaining,” he said, smiling.

“I’ve turned down about 98 percent of the requests, because I’m truly focused on the people I represent in the 2nd district and the people of South Carolina,” Wilson said.

But the South Carolina conservative said that in the coming weeks and months he’ll be picking up the pace of travel for national Republicans.

Requests for appearances, he said, are coming from “everybody,” including from the House and Senate Republican campaign committees. “Committees, state committees, county committees, everybody,” Wilson said.

While Wilson said he’s had no direct requests from NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) to appear at fundraisers, he said that Sessions “has been referring people” to Wilson for such campaign appearances.

“I have never taken an election for granted,” Wilson said. “I never stop campaigning. I enjoy campaigning.”

Paul Lindsay, an NRCC spokesman, said the committee is fully embracing Wilson's energy and newfound fundraising potential.

“We appreciate Congressman Wilson’s leadership and are thankful for his assistance on behalf of the NRCC and Republican candidates," Lindsay said.

Wilson will headline an NRCC fundraiser with Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) on Hilton Head on Friday.

At this point, Wilson said he’s not in a position to donate any of his own war chest to congressional candidates looking at perhaps their best chance in years to knock off Democratic incumbents, return to their old seats or move up to the Senate.

“I’m really focusing on my race,” Wilson said. “It was stated by Washington Democrats, by MoveOn.org, that I’m the No. 1 target. So I take that seriously.”