Donald Trump just keeps making Mitch McConnell’s life harder

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“Sean is a great candidate, robbed of his congressional run in Crime of the Century – the 2020 Presidential Election Scam,” Trump said, repeating the Big Lie that the 2020 election was somehow fraudulent. “Sean Parnell will always put America first. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Parnell is one of eight Republicans running the race to replace retired Sen. Pat Toomey. It remains to be seen if he is the strongest of those candidates; Parnell lost his 2020 challenge to Rep. Conor Lamb (D) 51% -49% in a western Pennsylvania district where Joe Biden covered Trump with 51% to 48%.

Whether or not Parnell will give the best chances to hold the spot in 2022 is pretty moot already. Trump’s endorsement – specifically in a field of unknown Republican candidates – makes Parnell clearly a front -runner. And, in Trump’s weigh -in on Parnell’s behalf, the chances of another, possibly more selective, candidate jumping into the race are slim.

Parnell’s endorsement is far from a singular event. Trump, who seeks to grow his brand of national populism and maintain his grip on the GOP, will jump into any number of Senate races set for next fall. Theirs:

* Former NFL football star Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate race * Rep. Ted Bud of North Carolina * Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama * Former Government Department Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka in Alaska also urged Sen. Ron Johnson to run for another term in Wisconsin – though the incumbent Republican has not yet decided if he will do so. He is also actively considering candidates for two other open Senate seats in Ohio and Missouri.

All of this Trump activity runs directly against what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell and Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chairman of the Republican Senate armed campaign, which Trump expects to do in the upcoming midterm elections.

Scott has repeatedly clarified – to the dismay of some established Republicans – that he or the National Republican Senatorial Committee he leads will be selected in the upcoming major nationwide fight. The only concession Scott made to the non-endorsement approach was his commitment to bring back incumbent senators seeking election. That puts him at odds with Trump in Alaska, where Tshibaka is challenging Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. McConnell was more exposed to the need for the party to bring back the candidates with the best chance of winning a general election. “My goal, in every way possible, is to have nominees representing the Republican Party who can win in November,” McConnell said in March. “The only thing I care about is the ability to choose.”

Tensions between McConnell and Trump are high.

“I’ve quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most extreme man in politics right now so I shouldn’t keep quiet anymore,” Trump said last month in response to McConnell’s support for a $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure package.

McConnell, as he voted against impeachment of Trump for the then-President’s role in the Jan. 6 uprising, blasted him in a speech on the Senate floor shortly after the vote. “There is no question, nothing, that President Trump was responsible for the practical and moral management of the events of that day,” McConnell said.

Trump’s activity in the Senate career poses a major challenge to McConnell and Scott. Will they continue to stay out of most of these primaries, believing that the best candidate – whether or not that’s the person Trump chose – will still win? Or are they advocating who they believe is the best candidate in the general election – even if that candidate isn’t the one behind Trump?

Trump’s continued raid on the Republican Party base suggests that even if McConnell (or Scott) engages in a major against his chosen candidate, they are likely to be defeated. Which means they will be left with nothing more than a gamble and a hope that Trump’s nominees will be elected election next November.

And that is a BIG risk for a party that is only a single seat away from regaining a majority in the Senate.

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