Brendan Doherty has reached the highest level of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s marquee “Young Guns” recruitment program for GOP U.S. House candidates.

Doherty was one of 11 candidates who advanced to the the third tier of the “Young Guns” program in February, but he wasn’t on the first list of top-ranked candidates last month. The NRCC announced Doherty’s advance to top status Friday, saying he “has met organizational and fundraising benchmarks.”

“Brendan Doherty has met a series of rigorous goals that will put him in position to win on Election Day,” Congressman and NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said in a statement. “Brendan Doherty is leading the pack as Republicans continue to send a loud and clear message that we will hold Democrats accountable for their unpopular partisan agenda.”

Sessions visited Rhode Island in March to attend a Doherty fundraiser at the Hope Club in Providence, and Doherty was one of 15 Republican challengers the NRCC brought to Washington later that month for a two-day candidate workshop, NRCC spokesman Nat Sillin told WPRI.com.

Update: Congressman Cicilline’s campaign is not impressed. Here’s a statement sent to WPRI.com by Eric Hyers, his campaign manager:

It’s no surprise that the same far-right extremists who run the Young Guns program, and have been propping up Doherty’s candidacy from the beginning, are now doubling-down. … [T]hey know Brendan Doherty will be another vote to keep this radical Republican majority in power so they can continue to wage war on women, the middle class, students and seniors.

Doherty had a double-digit lead over Cicilline in a February WPRI 12 poll, but Cicilline established a clear financial advantage last winter. Unlike Doherty, though, Cicilline faces a September primary challenger - Anthony Gemma - so the incumbent has two elections to win this year.

• Related: Brendan Doherty won’t sign Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge (May 30)

(photo: Doherty campaign)