Jeff Flake and Bob Corker Head for the Exits

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced yesterday that he will not seek re-election next year. This, combined with the retirement of Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), is good news for the country.

It’s not just that Jeff Flake and Bob Corker have been so critical of President Trump; it’s that they campaigned as conservatives, but then supported countless liberal policies.

As SCF supporters know, Jeff Flake misled us and misled the voters in Arizona when he said he would never support amnesty for illegal immigrants again. Shortly after he won his Senate race in 2012, he broke that promise and sided with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and other liberals in pushing amnesty.

Yesterday, Flake unwittingly admitted that he lied to the voters.

“The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take,” Flake said. “It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”

This is nonsense.

The position of opposing amnesty that he’s now unwilling to take is the very position he took back in 2012. The problem here is not that Flake is unwilling to lie about his support for amnesty; it’s that nobody will believe him this time.

Senator Bob Corker has been equally disappointing. He helped President Obama pave the way for his Iran nuclear deal and has voted for massive spending, bailouts, and debt.

The establishment says that Flake and Corker are retiring because of President Trump, but the real reason is that they have betrayed the voters and want to avoid embarrassing primary defeats.

These two retirements are an important step forward, but now conservatives need to work together to nominate strong replacements. These races have now been completely jumbled so we will have to see who runs and work with the grassroots to elect the best candidate.

The primary elections in Arizona and Tennessee won’t take place until August so there is plenty of time for good candidates to establish themselves with the grassroots and to help fund their campaigns.

Please support our efforts to identify, recruit, and fund strong conservatives by making a contribution to SCF today.

Winning these races won’t be easy. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) learned nothing from the rebuke he got in Alabama and will try to recruit other pro-establishment candidates in these races.

We need to be prepared to fight back and elect conservatives who will keep their word and help drain the swamp.

Thank you for doing so much to advance conservative leadership in Washington. We’re grateful for your continued support.