Club for Growth hires blacklisted firm

The conservative Club for Growth on Friday hired a GOP advertising firm that the National Republican Senatorial Committee blacklisted last year. 

The club announced it would add to its production team Jamestown Associates. The firm had caught the ire of the GOP Senate campaign arm after working with the Senate Conservative Fund — a group that has targeted incumbent senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

{mosads}“When we heard recently that they would have more time to work with Club for Growth Action we immediately seized the opportunity,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. 

Chocola said Jamestown Associates would be helpful to races in Mississippi and Nebraska, where the group has already endorsed candidates. 

“We look forward to the opportunity to utilize their services on races like Chris McDaniel’s in Mississippi and Ben Sasse’s in Nebraska,” he said. 

In November the NRSC said it would no longer do business with groups that profit from attacking Republicans. Jamestown Associates had been working with the Senate Conservative Fund, which had just endorsed McConnell’s primary opponent, Matt Bevin. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee has also reportedly refused to work with the advertising firm. 

“Purity for profit is a disease that threatens the Republican Party,” Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the NRSC, told the The New York Times at the time. 

The Club for Growth, while backing conservative candidates, has taken a more measured approach. After the SCF endorsement of Bevin last year, the Club issued a statement praising McConnell. 

“While we don’t always agree with Mitch McConnell, we appreciate his 84% lifetime score on the Club for Growth’s congressional scorecard, and his steadfast support for First Amendment free speech rights. We are continuing to monitor the race,” Club for Growth spokesman Barney Keller said at the time.