U.S. Sen. David Perdue will host a pair of fundraisers to help six Republican Senate candidates facing tough races as he tries to boost supporters of President Donald Trump ahead of the November midterms.
The Georgia Republican’s high-dollar fundraising events will benefit U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada as well as five challengers: Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Cramer of North Dakota, Karin Housley of Minnesota, Martha McSally of Arizona and Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia.
“With the Supreme Court and hundreds of executive and judicial nominations hanging in the balance, we must increase our razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate to stop the historic gridlock we continue to see from Senate Democrats,” said Perdue. “It is critical for us to not only keep the majority, but to also grow it.”
Republicans now have one-vote majority of 51 to 49 in the Senate and Democrats are zeroing in on Heller and other battleground seats try to flip the chamber. But the GOP likely stands a better chance of keeping the Senate than the U.S. House, where dozens of incumbents are thought to be vulnerable.
The first Perdue fundraiser, dubbed a “Keep the Majority” event, will be held Monday in Atlanta and include Cramer, Heller and Housley. He’ll follow that with a second “Grow the Majority” gala in September with Braun, McSally and Morrisey.
Each of the events is expected to raise more than $100,000 for the candidates, whom Perdue has interviewed and endorsed.
It's another sign of how Perdue is trying to leverage behind-the-scenes influence that has grown with Trump's election.
The first-term Republican was one of the first senators to endorse the president’s campaign and is among his most vocal defenders — and one of his consiglieres to the chamber.
Perdue, who faces a 2020 re-election campaign, has also become one of the most important voices in Washington in the immigration debate — and even a barometer for Trump's views.
And in Republican state politics, his family’s stamp of approval is coveted. He backed Brian Kemp’s campaign shortly after his runoff victory and plans to stump for him across Georgia.
Read more: Trump’s presidency has meant prominent roles for many Georgians
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