Steve Bannon is taking a beating.
The Breitbart chairman and former White House chief strategist was hit by blame from all sides after Republican Roy Moore’s stunning loss to Doug Jones in the Alabama Senate special election Tuesday night.
Bannon was a major supporter of Moore during the GOP primary runoff against establishment-backed incumbent Luther Strange and in the general election–sticking by Moore in the face of sexual misconduct accusations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was quick to scold Bannon for Jones’ win–an upset that put an Alabama Senate seat in the hands of a Democrat for the first time in 25 years.
The Senate Leadership Fund sent out a scathing message before all of the votes were even counted.
Senate Leadership Fund quick with a statement: Bannon cost us a critical senate seat pic.twitter.com/ZNPuvZ6pOl
— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) December 13, 2017
“This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running,” wrote Senate Leadership Fund president Steve Law. “Not only did Steve Bannon cost us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the president of the United States into his fiasco.”
But the McConnell-linked PAC was far from Bannon’s only critic.
Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, mockingly thanked the Breitbart head for seemingly enabling Jones’ victory.
Special thanks to the genius strategist who did so much to make this happen: Steve Bannon.
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) December 13, 2017
Conservative group The Reagan Batallion tweeted out a call to “take our party back” from Bannon.
The GOP lost a safe Senate seat tonight thanks to Steve Bannon.
This race will hunt the GOP for years to come, thanks to Steve Bannon.
Steve Bannon has hijacked the party of Lincoln and Reagan, and it’s time to take our party back!
It’s time to #BannOFF pic.twitter.com/FvKMEMisN0
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) December 13, 2017
Conservative commentator Dana Loesch attacked Bannon’s decision to support Moore in the runoff when President Trump endorsed Strange.
Next time maybe Bannon will won’t fight Trump’s primary endorsement out of ego and cost the GOP a senate seat.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 13, 2017
Josh Holmes, a political strategist who once served as Mitch McConnell’s Chief of Staff, echoed his former employer’s sentiments.
Before we get the results, I'd just like to thank Steve Bannon for showing us how to lose the reddest state in the union and Governor Ivey for the opportunity to make this national embarrassment a reality
— Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) December 13, 2017
Rep. Pete King (R-NY) said the Republican party should disown Bannon.
After Alabama disaster GOP must do right thing and DUMP Steve Bannon. His act is tired, inane and morally vacuous. If we are to Make America Great Again for all Americans, Bannon must go! And go NOW!!
— Pete King (@RepPeteKing) December 13, 2017
Bannon was also rebuked by Utah conservative third-party presidential candidate Evan McMullin. His tweet, directed at President Trump, read:
The GOP couldn’t win in Alabama, of all places, and it’s largely due to the direction in which you and Steve Bannon have taken the party. Prepare for more general election losses. https://t.co/W5ZP1CrL2r
— Evan McMullin 🇺🇸 (@EvanMcMullin) December 13, 2017
The barrage of blame against Bannon has been major, but it may be too early to count the Trump ally out of the game yet.
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