Kemp Wins Coveted Backing of National Congressional Club
Republican Rep. Jack Kemp, a New Yorker hoping for a strong showing in the South in 1988, has scored a much-needed coup by winning the support of the arch-conservative National Congressional Club.
The organization that raised $18 million for co-founder Sen. Jesse Helms’ reelection campaign in 1984 will make Kemp’s presidential campaign its top priority next year, Executive Director Carter Wrenn said.
“I think Kemp is in the process of becoming the conservative movement candidate for President,” a label that has eluded the New York congressman, Wrenn said.
Charlie Black, Kemp’s campaign manager and a native North Carolinian, said the support of the Helms brain trust is “a tremendous boost” for Kemp.
Helms has not endorsed any Republican candidate.
In addition to the Congressional Club’s fund-raising prowess, its leaders will develop strategy for Kemp’s campaign in the South, where more than a dozen states have scheduled primaries and caucuses on March 8.
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