Will Government Shutdown Hurt House Republicans Hoping to Get to the Senate?

Could the threat of shutting down the government hurt in red states?

ByABC News
September 24, 2013, 2:19 AM
Members of the House of Representatives make their way up the Capitol steps for a vote on a GOP-drafted budget resolution, Sept. 20, 2013, in Washington.
Members of the House of Representatives make their way up the Capitol steps for a vote on a GOP-drafted budget resolution, Sept. 20, 2013, in Washington.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

Sept. 24, 2013— -- There are several Republican members of the House working to get themselves promoted to the Senate and they are speaking with one voice on the GOP's threat of a government shutdown if Obamacare is not defunded.

At least seven House Republicans who are likely or definitely running for Senate are backing the GOP push. They all voted Friday for a House continuing resolution to fund the government through mid-December while defunding the Affordable Care Act.

But when it comes to the general election, could their willingness to threaten a government shutdown hurt them, even in red states?

Democrats hope so.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has launched a website to point out the possible effects of a government shutdown, and to blame Republicans for the "looming shutdown" that "would have a devastating impact on the country."

"Republican leaders have embraced the Tea Party's ultimatum that Obamacare must be destroyed at all costs," the website says.

They have also launched web ads and there is a clock ticking down the minutes until the government shuts down.

"Shutting down the government is a reckless and dangerous way to run the country and Republicans who support it include virtually every Senate candidate in the country," DSCC national press secretary Justin Barasky said.

Voters, he said, will hold them "accountable" in 2014 for "doing something that hurts the economy, hurts jobs, hurts small business, and hurts students trying to pay for college ... there are no positives to shutting down the government."

Barasky said the DSCC will continue to "highlight" the "bad judgment" these candidates are showing.

"That's what will hurt them the most with voters," Barasky said. "All these Republicans have decided they would rather pander to right wing extremists in their party than do what's best in their states."

All three GOP congressmen running for Senate in Georgia are on board: Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, and Jack Kingston. As well as Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Rep. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Rep. Steve Daines is a likely Senate candidate from Montana, and although he has not yet officially announced, he voted on Friday as well.

Most of the Republican candidates running for the Senate outside Congress also have backed the effort, including another candidate vying for the Senate seat in Georgia: former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel.

Among the many others are several of the candidates running for Senate in Iowa, as well as North Carolina.

In Alaska there is a difference, though. Alaska tea party candidate Joe Miller supports the push, but Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell thinks a government shutdown goes too far.

"Mead fully supports any attempt to defund and repeal Obamacare, but shutting down the government is not a good idea," Treadwell's communications director Rick Gorka told ABC News. "He believes Democrats need to come to the table and address Obamacare."

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found there is little reason to fear a backlash from GOP primary voters.

Half of Republicans overall, and 54 percent of voters who identify as strong conservatives, say they'd support shutting down the government in order to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act. On the law itself, 52 percent of Americans, including Democrats, Republicans, and independents, are opposed vs. 42 percent in support, the poll found.