Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, says he was upstaged in September at a fundraiser for his own reelection campaign. About four dozen lobbyists at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Washington were more interested in listening to his guest speaker, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, than to him.
“He’s a legitimate draw,” Cole told CQ Roll Call in an interview. “People are interested in what Patrick McHenry has to say.”
They include McHenry’s Democratic colleagues on the Financial Services Committee. In interviews with CQ Roll Call, three Democrats said McHenry has sought to find bipartisan legislative consensus.
