McConnell is battling Trump for loyalty of Senate GOP

Nbcnews.com ^ | 1/24/22 | Jonathan Allen

[cotton1706]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is waging a quiet campaign to keep his caucus from getting a whole lot Trumpier after the midterms.

"He wants people who he knows are team players, people who are interested in solutions," said a GOP senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering fellow Republicans. "There are a lot of people who are running for office these days who have different agendas."

In Alaska's Senate race, McConnell is backing incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict former President Donald Trump on impeachment charges last year. She faces a Trump-backed challenge from Kelly Tshibaka.

In Arizona, McConnell is trying to recruit Gov. Doug Ducey, who angered Trump by refusing to overturn his state's electoral votes, to run in a Republican primary that already features multiple Trump-aligned hopefuls. Many Washington Republicans are concerned that the party could blow its chance to defeat Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly if it nominates a candidate who is seen as too extreme.

And over several conversations, McConnell privately lobbied his top lieutenant, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., to run for a fourth term rather than leave open a seat in South Dakota, which could easily nominate and elect a Trump-style Republican. Trump has issued an open call to Republicans in the state to run against Thune, and shortly after Thune announced that he would seek re-election, one of Trump's pollsters conducted a survey that suggested he could be vulnerable.

[Vaduz]

McConnell time is up he’s proved he’s a liability not an asset and has connections where he shouldn’t have.

[DoughtyOne]

Let's go McBrandon!

[FLT-bird]

The Turtle is losing as is the rest of the RINO establishment. Very few actually support them.

[SunkenCiv]

Concern Trolling from a Partisan Media Shill and Stooge alert.