Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips is throwing his support behind Virginia Del. Barbara Comstock (R) in her campaign for retiring Rep. Frank Wolf’s (R-Va.) seat.
Phillips, the national head of the powerful conservative group, is also a resident of Comstock’s Northern Virginia congressional district. His endorsement gives her a major credibility boost with Tea Party activists and should assuage some Republicans worried a messy primary could cost them the competitive seat.
“Barbara Comstock is exactly the kind of leader we need representing the 10th District — conservative, articulate, willing to fight for our principles, and capable of putting together a winning campaign. I’m proud to support her,” he says in a statement first shared with The Hill.
{mosads}Phillips’s endorsement is from him personally — Americans for Prosperity, the billionaire Koch brothers’ main vehicle for backing conservatives, doesn’t endorse candidates. But it could give a boost on the right to Comstock, a longtime Republican activist and GOP establishment’s favorite to succeed Wolf.
Comstock is a former Wolf staffer who was also a surrogate for the presidential campaigns of President George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. She’s facing Virginia state Sen. Dick Black (R), a controversial social conservative who national Republican strategists worry could cost the party the GOP-leaning seat, if he is the nominee.
Comstock has been busy working to unite the wings of the GOP. She’s already won support from both establishment Republicans and movement conservatives — Romney and conservative radio star Mark Levin have both endorsed her campaign.