In an election featuring an historically unpopular presidential incumbent, GOP Senate incumbents and challengers find Donald Trump’s coattails virtually nonexistent and in many races, a drag to their own chances of winning, the Washington Post reports.
The “Trump drag” makes republicans maintaining control of the Senate unlikely, with traditionally republican Senate seats in play, requiring the republican National Committee and the National republican Senatorial Committee to try to stretch funds into races that were not foreseen to be challenged.
States like Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina and Maine were on the radar as toss-ups early on in the year, but are now likely to be Democratic seats after the next election. Democrats foresee losing one seat, Doug Jones’ seat in Alabama.
Now, however, a slew of new republican “gimmes” are suddenly in play, stretching republican resources and making candidates question whether having Trump appear in their states is a benefit to their campaigns.
Joni Ernst of Iowa is at strong risk of losing her seat to Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. Montana’s Steve Daines is in a close race with former Democratic Governor Steve Bullock. And Trump lapdog Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is facing a strong challenge from Jaime Harrison, in which polls show the candidates neck-and-neck.
None of those republican incumbents have asked for Trump to make an appearance with them in their state in the last month of the campaign. And while South Carolina and Montana are likely Trump-friendly states, the pull does not seem to help down-ticket.
David Perdue, the suddenly embattled republican in Georgia, is the only incumbent to publicly state he’s appearing with Trump at a rally. Trump felling that he needs a rally in Georgia is news enough, but Perdue may have chosen to appear with Trump Sunday rather than face another debate with Democrat Jon Ossoff, who wiped the floor with his opponent in last week’s televised debate.
Of course, the republicans may also be trying to avoid the public embarrassment suffered by Arizona republican incumbent Martha McSally, who was ordered to the stage “quick” during a recent rally, where she was given just a minute by Trump to address the crowd. Meanwhile, republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy was given more time to speak by Trump–even through McCarthy is from California and not facing a significant challenger. McSally was followed by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who is not up for reelection this cycle and who would not gain any voters in Arizona. Paul spoke for 21⁄2 minutes, more than twice the time allotted to McSally.