Where Is the Republican Party?

Dan Bongino is the ideal candidate for Congress.

Bongino has the pedigree as a former Secret Service agent that provides an automatic stamp of approval from everyone who learns this one fact about him.

He has built-in name identification through his regular guest radio hosting gigs on both Washington, D.C. local and nationally syndicated radio shows, as well as a best-selling book Inside the Bubble that puts him on the credibility map.

Bongino even has demonstrated expertise in social media with more than 21,000 personal followers on twitter.

Young, smart, handsome, savvy, and quick with a sharp sound bite, Dan Bongino is everything the Republican Party purports to look for in a candidate, yet the National Republican Congressional Committee has not lifted a finger to support his election effort. As of this writing, they haven’t even called him.

Part of the reason could be that early in the race Bongino was considered a long-shot, running in the blue state of Maryland in a district that was gerrymandered to give a Democrat a good chance of winning. However, even with the most creative drawing of the district lines, the District is only a D+4, meaning that it leans Democrat but can be won by a Republican in an election cycle that favors the GOP.

And that is exactly what we have. 2014 is the ideal election cycle for mobilized voters in the highly conservative western Maryland part of the district to overwhelm the disenchanted and demoralized Democrats in the D.C. suburban part of the District.

Bongino for his part has nationalized the election, having both Senator Rand Paul and Mike Lee into the District to rally the base, along with other conservative superstars like Col. Allen West.

On the fundraising front, Bongino continues to raise more money than his Democrat incumbent opponent, another touchstone for legitimacy.

Yet, even though Bongino’s district is in the Washington, D.C. media market, the political masterminds at the NRCC remain deaf to the possible pick-up.

It makes one wonder if the lack of enthusiasm for Dan Bongino is because he is a constitutional conservative who has a libertarian streak. A man accustomed to saying what he believes and not backing down from a fight, it is fair to ask if House Republican leadership would prefer to have Bongino on the outside looking in to their cozy little club. After all, who needs another Louie Gohmert constitutional conservative holding them accountable to limited government principles?

No matter their motivation, the ugly truth is that the Republican National Committee is currently soliciting volunteers from the D.C. area (including Bongino’s district) to volunteer in northern Virginia for their dead in the water Senate nominee and a likely winning congressional candidate. In most election years, this might make sense, but in 2014, the state of Maryland has a competitive governor’s race featuring a very attractive African American Republican Lt. Governor candidate, important state house and state senate races (Virginia has no state races on the ballot), and the chance to win a congressional seat with a candidate who will be a Party leader for the next twenty years.

The upshot is that Bongino can win (polling is too close to call), but it will be in spite of the national Republican leadership. The question is will conservative leaders step up to the plate in the next two weeks, replacing the Party, and make the ground game happen in Bongino’s and other ignored conservative candidate’s districts?

Our nation is at a crossroads, and America needs Members of Congress like Dan Bongino. With November 4th a mere two weeks away, it is time for conservatives across the nation to go all-in and use their networks to replace the indifferent Republican Party efforts to turn out the vote. Whether you live in the D.C. area, Utah or Florida, your vote and that of your family, friends and neighbors matter. Find the best candidate who will stand up for America and spend at least one weekend along with election day helping that candidate win. 

It is now up to you. You can sit at home and complain, or you can take a stand. With our nation adrift, failure is simply not an option.

The author is vice president of Americans for Limited Government.