Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday announced the launch of a political action committee named after the U.S. Army Cavalry and focused on backing Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections while bolstering his political profile.
Dubbed the Champion American Values PAC or CAVPAC, Pompeo is starting the organization in order to travel the country campaigning, fundraising and donating to aspiring Republican lawmakers on federal, state and local levels.
“We named the organization CAVPAC as a nod to my time in the U.S. Army Cavalry – the CAV in the PAC. My cavalry service taught me that America needs warriors who lead and are willing to ride first into the fight without fear. CAV also stands for Champion American Values – the values that we know have made our country exceptional,” Pompeo wrote announcing his new committee.
“From my days as a cadet at West Point and then as an officer in the U.S. Army, from leading two manufacturing businesses in South Central Kansas to representing Kansans in Congress – I’ve spent years fighting for hard-working Americans to have the opportunities that make America so special. In recent years, as the Director of the CIA and then as our country’s top diplomat, I worked abroad to protect America from those who want to do us harm. Today at home, our foundational ideas are under attack more than ever before, and I intend to stay in the fight,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo is looking ahead to the midterm elections next year as his focus.
“It is unambiguously clear to me that if we don’t get it right in the next 16 or 17 months, what will happen over these next four years will make it incredibly difficult for whoever is elected president in 2024. So that is my singular focus,” Pompeo told Politico on Tuesday.
According to Pompeo, GOP leaders in both chambers of Congress are aware of the help he intends to provide heading into the midterms.
“You can absolutely imagine me getting involved in races where there are multiple Republican candidates,” Pompeo continued. “My goal is pretty clear: I want to elect the most conservative electable candidate we can find in each of these races, whether its school board, city council, or a United States Senate seat.”
The announcement comes as the former secretary of state continues to deflect questions about his own intentions to run for president in 2024. With CAVPAC, Pompeo plans to aggressively campaign this summer, including a stop at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa in July.
“We’re going to go out, and we’ve started this already, but we’re going to go out and expand to a greater degree, helping candidates all across the country,” Pompeo said.
Since leaving the State Department, Pompeo has made appearances at more than 25 events, including several for House Republicans and the GOP’s campaign organizations. In the last dozen days of June, Pompeo plans to attend the Republican National Committee’s summer donor retreat in Dana Point, California and a fundraiser for California Rep. Mike Garcia.
Next month, Pompeo will speak at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, and will likely host an event for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
When asked if he would run for president if Trump made a comeback in 2024, Pompeo said he hadn’t “given it enough thought,” noting that he was focused on the midterm elections.
Pompeo added that his ultimate goal is to “deliver good outcomes for the American people.”
“Wherever I can be the most effective in delivering those outcomes, whether it’s as a candidate, or in this case supporting candidates, that’s what my wife and I aim to do,” he said.
