republicans seeking to preserve their senate majority have rested much of their hope and money on ward baker, a fiery-tempered former marine. the success of his battle plan will be tested in two weeks. some republicans are privately concerned that mr. baker, executive director of the national republican senatorial committee, didn<u+2019>t raise enough money and deployed much of it too early, leaving the party outspent by democratic groups in eight of 10 key senate races in the election<u+2019>s final stretch. that could leave republicans whose races have tightened at the campaign<u+2019>s end vulnerable, including sens. richard burr in north carolina and roy blunt in missouri. at the same time, many credit mr. baker for sounding an early alarm over donald trump <u+2019>s rise and the risks to downballot candidates of being too closely aligned with the unorthodox nominee. he is also praised for being willing to deliver uncomfortable facts to gop operatives and senators alike. few dispute the difficulty of mr. baker<u+2019>s task: maintaining a senate majority in a year when republicans are defending 24 seats compared with 10 for democrats, and on a ticket led by a nominee whose comments have often alienated women and hispanic voters. republicans hold 54 of 100 seats. mr. baker saw the challenge back in september 2015, penning a memo highlighting lessons that republicans could learn from the new york businessman<u+2019>s campaign: to <u+201c>understand the populist points trump makes and ride that wave<u+201d> and to be aware of the possible dangers presented by his attitude toward women. <u+201c>houston, we have a problem,<u+201d> mr. baker wrote, more than a year before mr. trump<u+2019>s lewd comments about grabbing women in a 2005 video surfaced this month. <u+201c>isolate trump on this issue by offering a quick condemnation of it,<u+201d> he wrote. incumbent republicans said they absorbed the memo<u+2019>s recommendation that this was a year to focus on local issues. <u+201c>all of us took it to heart<u+2014>we implemented it in different ways,<u+201d> sen. rob portman (r., ohio) said of the memo. of its shaved-head author, mr. portman said that <u+201c>he<u+2019>s as intense as his haircut would indicate.<u+201d> mr. baker, who left for marines boot camp within 24 hours of his high-school graduation, is known for his blunt, military-style approach. the 40-year-old starts his days sometimes before 4 a.m., emailing staff members and making to-do lists. he doesn't watch television and rarely drinks. his motto, gleaned from his military service, he said, is <u+201c>the only easy day was yesterday.<u+201d> in a town where lawmakers are still treated with assiduous deference, he is also known for being willing to give lawmakers unsparing assessments of their races. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re here to win. it<u+2019>s not my job to pat people on the back,<u+201d> mr. baker said in an interview. sen. marco rubio (r., fla.) said when he was considering running for re-election this year, mr. baker didn<u+2019>t pretend he would coast to victory in the perennial swing state. <u+201c>he could<u+2019>ve come to me and said, <u+2018>this will be easy, don<u+2019>t worry about it,<u+2019><u+201d> mr. rubio said. <u+201c>i appreciated that candor. if he had said something different, i wouldn<u+2019>t have trusted him.<u+201d> but dozens of republican operatives said mr. baker<u+2019>s sharp-edged style can backfire. some of those who have been screamed at by him have been less willing to help wrangle donors and senators to raise money. although a 2014 change to campaign-finance laws allows national party committees to collect more money from donors, the nrsc raised less money through the end of august than in either 2014 or 2012. at the start of september, it had raised $65.6 million, below the $77.2 million it amassed by the same point in 2014 and $72.4 million in 2012. the nrsc fired its fundraiser at the end of 2015, according to someone familiar with the committee. and because the nrsc opted to spend early, it had less cash on hand on labor day<u+2014>$11.9 million<u+2014>than it did at the same point in 2014, when it had $19.9 million, or in 2012 with $28.9 million. <u+201c>by spending early, we provided a road map to others, defined our opponents before early voting and gave our candidates the opportunity to run positive ads while the airways were relatively clear,<u+201d> mr. baker said. critics said it is hard to know early which races will end up being the tightest. the nrsc also expected outside groups would spend more heavily closer to november, according to someone familiar with the committee. <u+201c>our donors put their hands in their pocket and stuck out their lower lips when they didn<u+2019>t get the nominee that they wanted,<u+201d> said brad todd, a gop operative and founding partner of onmessage inc., a republican media agency. but campaign-finance experts said republican donors have been contributing to other groups, including the senate leadership fund super pac. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m sure there are some republican donors who are sitting out, but it<u+2019>s quite clear there are a lot of republican donors who are funneling their money into the senate instead<u+201d> of the presidential race, said ian vandewalker, counsel at the brennan center for justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that tracks political spending. the nrsc said last week it had raised $15 million in september, its best month of the election cycle. the committee ended september with $12.3 million on hand, and would have been out of cash had it not also taken out a $15 million loan. senate democrats<u+2019> campaign arm raised $19 million in september, leaving it with $28.5 million in cash on hand and no debt. on the recruiting front, republicans widely view gop rep. joe heck as a standout candidate in nevada, but many are dismayed they aren<u+2019>t fielding a competitive challenger in colorado, where a democratic incumbent was beaten in 2014. <u+201c>it may very well have been a missed opportunity,<u+201d> former colorado gop chairman ryan call said of the state<u+2019>s senate race this year, but he said he recognized the nrsc had to prioritize its spending. some of mr. baker<u+2019>s expenses at the nrsc have also raised eyebrows. he spent almost $5,000 in three stays at the loews regency hotel in new york city, a luxury hotel near central park, according to campaign finance reports. the nrsc said those expenses included other staff members<u+2019> lodging and that he hosted several fundraising meals. and coming back from the gop convention in cleveland, the nrsc chartered a private plane to fly home staff members, according to multiple republican operatives. the nrsc paid moby dick airways $4,962 the week after the convention, according to a campaign finance report. the nrsc said it does charter planes, but wouldn't confirm using one to return from the convention. write to kristina peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com
gop looks to ex-marine ward baker in bid to keep senate control  - wsj
kristina peterson