Fresh off a win in Alabama, Breitbart chief Steve Bannon is taking action to keep up his role in a coming Republican divide.
A source familiar with the recently fired top White House aide to President Donald Trump said Bannon was working with Roy Moore’s team as the far-right former judge moves on from Tuesday’s primary toward the December 12 special election.
The source said Bannon was likewise meeting with and talking to candidate teams in Tennessee and Mississippi.
GOP Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker announced Tuesday he would not seek re-election, a blow to Republican leadership hours before Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s preferred candidate, Sen. Luther Strange, lost the primary runoff in Alabama.
Bannon was also looking to get involved with candidates from the West, with the source telling CNN that he was flying to Colorado to recruit.
The source also said Bannon planned to speak at the Council on National Policy conference, a gathering of social conservative grassroots leaders about the ground game needed to “defeat elites” in coming races.
The moves would show Bannon still intends to follow through on his claim earlier this month that he would be a “wingman” for Trump against the GOP establishment and would get involved in GOP races.
Bannon left the White House in early August as part of a lengthy shakeup of Trump’s team over the summer. Almost immediately upon departing, Bannon retook the helm of Breitbart, a news site strongly supportive of Trump and opposed not only to Democrats but Republican leadership figures like McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
At the time of his exit, Bannon said, “I am definitely going to crush the opposition.”
He backed Moore in the Alabama Republican primary race to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Republican Party leaders backed Strange, and Trump personally stumped for Strange days before the election against Moore. Meanwhile, Bannon campaigned for Moore, and his website ran a stream of articles bolstering the candidacy of the twice removed judge with a history of incendiary comments.
