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After quietly bowing out of the presidential race last fall, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) launched an aggressive effort to court socially conservative leaders who have expressed skepticism about the candidacy of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Brownback is heading McCain’s outreach to Catholic voters and is also one of McCain’s chief advisers on judicial nominations, helping to organize meetings between the candidate and national social conservative leaders. Brownback has met with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Father Frank Pavone, a leader in the anti-abortion rights movement, to enlist their support.
On Thursday, Brownback will attend Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual convention of conservative activists in Washington, to tout McCain. He will then travel home to persuade voters to support McCain in the Kansas caucus scheduled for Saturday.
Brownback’s efforts come at a critical time for McCain because political analysts have raised questions about the Arizona senator’s rocky relationship with some high-profile conservatives.
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and one of the most prominent Christian leaders active in conservative politics, has said he would not vote for McCain “under any circumstances.” Conservative radio celebrity Rush Limbaugh has also rejected McCain and conservative pundit Ann Coulter has even pledged to campaign for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if McCain becomes the GOP nominee.
McCain firmly established his status as Republican frontrunner Tuesday by winning nine states, including the biggest prizes of the day: California, New York and Illinois. But McCain’s popularity among rock-ribbed Republicans remains in question. Seven of the nine states he carried vote reliably Democratic in presidential elections. Oklahoma and Arizona are the only states in McCain’s Tuesday win column that vote consistently for Republicans.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) did significantly better in the Southern states that make up the GOP’s powerbase. He won Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Brownback said he first considered endorsing Huckabee.
“My heart was more with Huckabee because the social issues are clearly a strong agenda item with him,” said Brownback in an interview. “But he didn’t have the rest of the package and I didn’t think he could build out to include economic conservatives.
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