Despite repeatedly criticizing the "mainstream" Republican party, U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh has accepted some financial help from GOP leaders hoping to keep a seat that national Democrats have their eye on.
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions will participate in a fundraising breakfast in the Chicago suburbs for Walsh on May 3, the Chicago Tribune reports. Sessions heads the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
The fundraiser comes after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called the 8th district race between Walsh and Democrat Tammy Duckworth one of the most important races in the nation. The DCCC also included the 8th in their "Red to Blue" program, which they hope will help Democrats win back the House.
“Tammy is a heroic veteran; Walsh a Tea Party icon who’s so extreme he’s doubling down on his extremism,” DCCC chairman Steve Israel said in March, adding that Walsh is "badly out of touch" with voters.
Walsh was trailing Duckworth in an early, pre-primary poll, and redistricting has also put him in a vulnerable position.
But in a pre-primary interview with The Huffington Post, Walsh's opponent, Democrat Tammy Duckworth, said she was expecting the GOP to pour money and resources into the race.
"In 2006, Karl Rove flew in 60 RNC workers to work against me," Duckworth said. "There was a huge mobilization effort. This is the eye of the storm."
Walsh, who previously said that defeating President Obama is more important to him than keeping his own job, seems to be enjoying his "public enemy No. 1" status.
“When you listen to [New York Rep.] Steve Israel, I’m the guy. When you listen to Jay Carney at the White House, Joe Walsh is everything that’s everything wrong with Washington,” he "gleefully" told Politico, adding that he is the “only kind of Republican that can win this district."