McConnell carefully chooses battles in Trump’s proxy war for midterms

Beyond Georgia, this war of influence in the GOP nomination contests has turned into a temporary detente.

McConnell’s political team has welcomed other Trump endorsements in open primaries with cautious accommodation – including Sean Parnell in Pennsylvania, Mo Brooks in Alabama and Ted Budd in North Carolina. None could be described as McConnell’s ideal candidate, said a Republican consultant, but none would significantly diminish the odds of winning the GOP next November.

And in the case of Adam Laxalt of Nevada, Trump lent his support to a candidate that McConnell worked to recruit for himself.

“Except, arguably, in Georgia, Trump didn’t pick anyone who can’t win, and there aren’t any competitive races where an alternative setting would be a slam dunk,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist. “You are not getting into a main proxy battle against Trump for the sport – there has to be something to be won.”

But establishment Republicans are still concerned that there will be other Senate primaries – in Arizona, Ohio and Missouri, for example – where Trump’s influence could hamper the GOP candidate and put in danger McConnell’s goal of regaining the majority.

“The types of people Trump approves of don’t tend to be general election winners,” said a Republican fundraiser, citing the Georgia Senate race as a prime example.

A cold relationship since December

Minority Parliamentary Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senator Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee, have maintained a working and even friendly relationship with Trump. Since leaving office, McCarthy and Scott have traveled to Mar-a-Lago and embraced Trump as an integral part of their medium-term strategies.

But despite the accommodations McConnell makes to Trump, relations between the two main national Republicans remain frosty.

According to people close to the two, McConnell and Trump have not spoken to each other since December 15, when the then president was focused on changing the 2020 election result.

McConnell had moved on for a long time then, turning his attention to the second round of elections in Georgia which would determine control of the Senate. Republicans ultimately lost those Senate races, which Republicans in Georgia attribute in part to Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Just a day after the second round, crowds of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol in an attempt to prevent the counting of the electoral votes. McConnell condemned the insurgency and Trump for his role in promoting it – although he ended up voting against Trump’s conviction in his second Senate impeachment trial.

“Former President Trump’s actions leading up to the riot were a shameful and shameful dereliction of duty,” McConnell said in remarks after Trump’s acquittal in February. “Trump is practically and morally responsible for bringing about the events of the day.”

Since then, Trump has been relentless. So far this year, he has insulted the Kentucky senator as an “old raven,” a “stern, brooding, smileless political hack” and “the most overrated man in politics.”

In an April interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Trump called on Senate Republicans to replace McConnell with a new leader.

“We need good leadership. Mitch McConnell didn’t do a great job, I think they should change Mitch McConnell,” he said.

McConnell, typically, took the mockery in stride.

“McConnell sees no use in publicly fighting Donald Trump,” Jennings said.

In his limited remarks on Trump and the primaries, McConnell reiterated that his priority is victory.

“Well, he has his own agenda,” McConnell said when asked on Fox News in June if he welcomed Trump’s involvement in the selection of GOP candidates. “And my point is that we are going to focus on this administration and the future, what they are trying to do in the country and make it a referendum in the fall of 22 on what people think about this new government that ‘They were narrowly elected as they continue the Senate 50-50 and a close score in the House. “

The icy feelings between Trump and McConnell also stem from their opposing approaches to politics.

“(For McConnell) there’s really no emotional attachment to people, there’s no, you know, ego, you know, it’s not visceral for him. It’s a crude question of strategy and tactics and how do we get away with having an absolute majority today, “Jennings said.” I think for President Trump it’s obviously different. You know, there’s ego, there’s emotion, there’s a visceral reaction to people and, and he just doesn’t look at the world the same way. “

Two very different political styles

While McConnell is deliberate and calculating, Trump is impulsive. Her recent support for Parnell in Pennsylvania stunned Republicans there and was seen as a snub to another Senate candidate: Carla Sands, a prominent Trump fundraiser who also served as his ambassador to Denmark.

And his announcement at the North Carolina GOP convention in June that he supported Budd caught much of the crowd, which was full of supporters of two other candidates (Pat McCrory and Mark Walker), off guard.

This clash of styles remains evident in Georgia, where Trump promoted Walker months before Walker declared his candidacy to challenge Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic candidate who won one of January’s two second polls in Georgia.

“He would be unstoppable, just as he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs and in the NFL,” Trump said in a March statement. “He’s a GREAT person too. Run, Herschel, run!”

Their friendship dates back to the mid-1980s, when Trump bought the New Jersey Generals, a United States Football League team in which Walker was the star running back. The USFL would pull back soon after a Trump-led effort to merge the league with the established National Football League.

After signing with the Dallas Cowboys from the NFL, Walker has remained close to Trump. He appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC and went on to support Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential nominations. And in December, Walker tweeted a video supporting Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss and reverse the will of the electorate. Trump replied, “Herschel is telling the truth!”

But where Trump sees a friend and staunch supporter, McConnell and many other Republicans see a major handicap.

The Senate Minority Leader tried to recruit the two GOP senators who lost the January second round, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, to run for the primaries. And his allies have made it clear to the press that McConnell sees Walker as a dangerous bet for Republicans.

But even after a string of negative stories about the former football star, including accusations he threatened and abused women, Walker entered the race in late August. A few days later, Trump approved it. As a result, McConnell must recalibrate his strategy to regain a crucial seat in his quest for majority.

Republican strategists say there’s always a chance McConnell will champion an alternative in the Georgia primary. Most likely it would be Latham Saddler, a young former Navy SEAL who surprised many Republicans in Peach State when he said he raised over $ 1.4 million in his first few weeks as a candidate.

But Republicans in Washington agree that the options for McConnell in Georgia have narrowed considerably. If the candidates backed by Trump reduce the party’s chances, the Republican leader has already said he is preparing to withdraw them.

“There is no doubt that in order to win you have to, in most of the states that will determine who will be in the majority next time around, appeal to a general election audience. And some of the candidates who have stood for those primaries clearly I gonna keep an eye on that, “McConnell told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in June.” I hope we don’t have to intervene. But if we do, we will. “