An under-the-radar special election in Alabama next week will provide the first post-shutdown test case for moderate, business-friendly Republicans seeking to neutralize the GOP’s tea party faction that nearly led the country to credit default earlier this month. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a message to the tea party on Tuesday, when it endorsed an established lawmaker over the tea-party-aligned candidate in the Nov. 5 GOP runoff in Alabama’s 1st District. So far, the chamber has spent $185,000 to boost former state Sen. Bradley Byrne over Dean Young — effectively laying down a marker in the growing battle for control of the GOP in the midterm cycle. “It’s the first shot, really the first political shot, in the GOP civil war between the establishment and business community versus the tea party,” Republican consultant Ron Bonjean said.
Business Strikes Back in Special Election : Roll Call Politics
