To stay in power, Kevin McCarthy must put conservatives ahead of K Street

By Timothy P. Carney | June 17, 2014

California Congressman Kevin McCarthy will likely win the election this week for House majority leader. Then he'll spend six months working to keep that job when House Republicans choose their leadership again, after the November elections.

Winning the love of his party and warding off a leadership challenge will force McCarthy to occasionally break with his longtime ally — the business lobby.

McCarthy's strength on Capitol Hill has been hispersonal connections. From the moment he arrived in 2007, McCarthy has built relationships and earned favors. When Eric Cantor tapped McCarthy as chief deputy whip in 2009, he put McCarthy in line to become majority whip. From that position, McCarthy built the IOU network that makes him the dominant favorite in this week's rushed race for majority leader.

But McCarthy has some natural weaknesses: His spotty vote-counting work as whip has led to embarrassing losses on the House floor. In his fourth term in Washington, he's fairly junior for a majority leader. McCarthy's conservative bona fides are also lacking: Last year, his Club for Growth score was 53 percent, placing him in 189th out of 235 House Republicans…..To Read More…..