Cornyn said his pledge extends to races for open Senate seats -- not
incumbents who may face primaries next year. The NRSC so far has endorsed
candidates in four open Senate seats -- Florida, Missouri, Illinois, and
Pennsylvania.

Cornyn's commitment is most immediately relevant in Florida, where the
NRSC's candidate, Gov. Charlie Crist, is facing an aggressive challenge on his
right from former state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Some of the same conservative groups that supported Doug Hoffman in New
York's 23rd congressional district are making noises about backing Rubio, in a
contest that could be the next showdown over the direction of the party.

"We're seriously looking at it. We like Marco Rubio a lot. We think that
Charlie Crist represents some of the same things that Dede Scozzafava
represents," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said on ABCNews.com's "Top
Line" Monday. Scozzafava was the Republican nominee in the New York
race.

Cornyn had praise for Rubio, and said he's sure that he would win the
general election if he gets past Crist in the primary. Cornyn said he's
confident that -- unlike in upstate New York -- Republicans will settle their
differences in the primary.

"The first lesson is that competitive primaries are generally a good
thing," Cornyn said. "To me, that's the overarching lesson to be learned out of
the 23rd. When 11 people get behind closed doors and pick the nominee ... the
grassroots are going to find an alternative."

Cornyn said the NRSC is only endorsing in races where -- like in Crist's
case -- the candidate specifically requests its stamp of approval. He said that
-- notwithstanding any endorsements -- his group would even offer advice on
hiring and strategy to GOP challengers, like Rubio, who haven't been
endorsed.

Asked what endorsements mean, then, Cornyn said some candidates may want
the backing to help line up support and financing. Beyond that, however, he said
NRSC endorsements won't mean very much in practice.

"Endorsements, frankly, are overrated.... They can to some extent be a
negative," Cornyn said, noting that candidates in New Hampshire, California, and
Colorado, for example, have asked the national party to stay out of their
races.

"People shouldn't read too much into endorsements by the NRSC. We are
encouraging people we think are the strongest candidates to run."

Cornyn said he hopes yesterday's results help expand Republicans' map
next year: "There are a few other candidates I'd like to see get into these
races. This can't be anything other than encouraging to them."

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