Huffington Post: “Leading GOP candidates for Senate seats across the country who once harshly criticized Donald Trump are now jockeying for his endorsement, a display of the former president’s near-total grip over the Republican primary electorate. The candidates include leading contenders for open seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina and a top-tier potential challenger to an incumbent Democrat in New Hampshire. All are likely to see GOP rivals weaponize their past comments to damage them in the eyes of Trump himself, allies who could influence him and Republican primary voters who overwhelmingly approve of the former president. Democrats, who have the smallest possible Senate majority and are likely to lose ground in the midterm elections if historical trends continue, are hoping chaotic intra-GOP squabbles for Trump’s favor alienate swing voters, cause clashes with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or lead to weaker candidates winning the Republican nomination.”

“‘Across the Senate map, Trump is escalating GOP primaries and making the Republican infighting even worse,’ said David Bergstein, the communications director for Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. ‘In each race GOP Senate candidates are fighting with each other over who can suck up to Trump the most – and whomever emerges from these intraparty fights will enter the general election badly damaged and out of step with the voters who will decide the race in their state.’ Some of the comments are harsh: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, arguably the party’s top Senate recruiting priority, said it was ‘clear’ Trump’s deserved blame for violence on Jan. 6. Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory suggested Trump was ‘destroying democracy’ with his false allegations of voter fraud following his 2020 loss. Other criticisms date back to the 2016 election: Then, venture capitalist and likely Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance said Trump was ‘unfit’ for the presidency, and Pennsylvania candidate Sean Parnell said he was not surprised Trump would not disavow an endorsement from a Ku Klux Klan leader. “