NRSC chair confident Loeffler will win special election despite stock controversy
April 9, 2020
Sen. Todd Young, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, on Thursday reiterated his confidence in Kelly Loeffler’s election bid, amid controversy over the Georgia Republican’s stock trades.
“Kelly Loeffler is a strong conservative voice for the people of Georgia,” Young (R-Ind.) said in an interview. “She’s effectively representing them and she will continue to be an effective United States senator for the people of Georgia after November.”
Loeffler has come under fire over stock trades she made during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, specifically that she traded millions in stocks after a classified Senate briefing on coronavirus.
While Loeffler has defended her actions and said the trades were done by third-party advisers, she announced Wednesday in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that she would liquidate all of her individual stock holdings. Loeffler emphasized she made the move not because of any wrongdoing but to quiet any distractions.
“My family’s investment accounts are being used as weapons for an assault on my character at a time when we should all be focused on making our country safe and strong,” Loeffler wrote.
Loeffler is married to Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange.
The Georgia Republican was appointed to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson who retired after health concerns. She will be on the ballot in a special election in November and already faces an intraparty challenge from Rep. Doug Collins, an ally of President Donald Trump who has been highly critical of Loeffler’s stock trades.
Young defended Loeffler’s character and described her as a “straight shooter.”
“She’s invited scrutiny by the ethics committee before anyone else initiated such scrutiny and she has insisted that she had absolutely no part in the trades in question or in any trades,” he said.
Source: https://www.politico.com/
