Washington may be toxic to voters — especially Republicans — but Lamar Alexander believes his incumbency will be an asset as he fights off a conservative primary challenge in Tennessee.
The Republican senator said he is emphasizing — even to GOP primary voters — the areas where he has been able to work with Democrats to pass laws during a particularly dry season of lawmaking in Congress. The strategy of highlighting his bipartisan dealmaking is a marked contrast to other Republicans dealing with challengers from the right, many of whom are highlighting their rock-solid opposition to Democratic policy.
“It takes 60 votes to get a result and we have 45 Republicans. If I’m going to fix the debt or lower the student loan rate or give parents more school choice, I’m going to have to have some Democratic support to do it. Tennesseans understand that,” Alexander said in a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO.
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To rebut conservative groups like Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America that take a dim view of Alexander each year in their annual scorecards, the two-term senator is releasing his own scorecard that highlights his stewardship of nine bills into law. Among the accomplishments he is hyping are a revamp of the federal student loan program and a new drug safety law — achievements Alexander believes stick out in a gridlocked 2013.
“Congress and the president only signed into law 72 laws and I found a way to be a part of nine of those,” Alexander said. “It’s very satisfying to me when I get a chance to work and work across party lines.”
That’s not to say even he believes his record is perfect. Alexander admitted he now regrets his vote in support of the “Cash for Clunkers” program, intended to spur the American auto industry. But he stands strong behind a vote that most riled grassroots conservatives: His support of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill.
He said he hears little from people back home criticizing his vote for the immigration legislation, which spurred the conservative machinery back home to find a candidate to challenge him.
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“I hear about it from people who like that fact I did something about it,” Alexander said. “For the Congress not to deal with immigration is indefensible. The Nashville City Council can’t do it, the governor of Tennessee can’t do it. It’s the job of the president and the Congress to do and we’re just allowing de facto 11 million people to break the rule of law when we don’t do something about it.”
The former governor, presidential candidate and education secretary insulated himself from higher-profile challenges by locking up endorsements from much of the Tennessee congressional delegation, which means he won’t be facing the same sort of conservative firepower in his August primary as some other Senate GOP incumbents.
The highest-profile challenger Alexander has drawn is conservative state Rep. Joe Carr, and there has been little comprehensive polling done on the race.
Manu Raju contributed to this report.
Alexander touts bipartisan record
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