By Gabriel Debenedetti
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - For Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, a vote to end debate over raising the U.S. debt ceiling on Wednesday was much more than a vote to leave Washington before a snowstorm arrived.
It earned him the wrath of his party's vocal and influential right wing, and it could have implications for the Senate minority leader's re-election campaign in Kentucky.
The vote, in which he was joined by 11 other Republican senators, came as McConnell is trying to appeal to conservative voters in Kentucky to fend off a primary challenge from Matt Bevin, a Tea Party-aligned Republican. And it was a sign of defiance against influential outside groups trying to push him further to the political right less than half a year after a government shutdown and the last debt ceiling fight.
"This vote couldn't have come at a worse time for Mitch McConnell," said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, who advised Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential bid. O'Connell noted that the campaign ahead of the May 20 Kentucky Senate primary was moving into high gear.
The legislation to extend the U.S. federal borrowing authority for a year now goes to the desk of President Barack Obama for approval. Debt limit increases have been a source of major partisan battles since 2011, and Wednesday's vote was seen as a victory for Democrats.
But McConnell, a 29-year veteran of the Senate who has been closely involved with negotiating agreements to end similar standoffs in the past, stepped forward to ensure the measure's passage.
Allies to Tea Party challenger Bevin staunchly oppose raising the debt ceiling, saying Republicans should demand deficit reduction as a condition for any increase in the Obama administration's borrowing authority.
"I wish I could say I am surprised that Mitch McConnell voted to hand President Obama another blank check," said Bevin in a statement after the vote.
"But sadly, I am not, because this is more of the same from a career politician who has voted for bigger government, multiple bailouts, and now 11 debt ceiling increases."
McConnell leads Bevin in early polling, but if he wins, he could face a tougher race against Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's Democratic secretary of state. McConnell is trailing Grimes slightly in preliminary polls.
To win the primary, McConnell must continue to court voters on the right without alienating the moderate Republican and independent voters he will need to win the general election.
MOBILIZING AGAINST MCCONNELL
Still, independent political groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund are mobilizing supporters to ensure he does not even get past the primary.