McConnell, Bush, GOP Establishment Working To Foil Trump-Endorsed Candidates

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is working behind the scenes to protect and strengthen GOP establishment figures, sometimes in direct opposition to former President Donald Trump. 

And McConnell isn’t alone, either. At his side, in at least one instance, is former President George W. Bush. 

The New York Times reports that McConnell’s actively working to recruit Senate candidates to go up against those who might have the support of former President Donald Trump.

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Party Divide Becoming Visible

Donald Trump has been endorsing candidates for 2022 races for a while now, but it appears the swamp, a.k.a., the GOP establishment, is ready to punch back.  

One such case given by the NYT is Arizona’s senate race. Trump has been highly critical of Governor Doug Ducey over the state’s performance in the 2020 election. 

While Ducey has demurred on running for Senate in 2022, he’s gotten encouragement from the likes of McConnell and George W. Bush. 

McConnell has stated that he believes that Trump has ‘done damage to the GOP,’ and told allies that he will not back ‘unelectable goofballs’ in the primaries.

In his efforts, he’s hitting the phones and calling people in for meetings.

He recently admonished the Republican National Committee for the censure of Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for their roles on the Jan. 6 House Committee. He called the riot on January 6 a “violent insurrection,” borrowing language from the most vehement Democrats and left-wing media narratives.

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Candidates In An Awkward Position

Donald Trump has made some early endorsements, and some have not panned out, with one – Sean Parnell in Pennsylvania – even dropped out of his race. But no matter how many phone calls McConnell makes, Trump still remains wildly popular. His rallies still draw thousands of people, and his endorsement is still a coveted one.

However, several candidates who have received an endorsement from Trump are less than enthusiastic about going on the record to say they will vote McConnell out of leadership, and it has put them in a rather strange position.

The peculiar scenario was laid out by a Trump advisor and used the Ohio Senate primary as an example, “You have four candidates who would seemingly do anything for [Trump’s] endorsement and yet not one of them is willing to stand up and say, ‘It’s time for McConnell to go.'”

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Such is the nature of the disconnect between political establishment and rank-and-file voters.

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Trump Makes Two New Endorsements Against Incumbents

Timely as ever, Trump has made new endorsements against sitting Members of Congress.

Trump endorsed Loren Culp, who is running against Washington state incumbent Dan Newhouse, who voted to impeach Trump over the Capitol riot. 

He also endorsed Katie Arrington against South Carolina incumbent Nancy Mace, who claimed that Trump was responsible for the Capitol riot and “put all of [their] lives at risk.”

As if to make the point about the power of a Trump endorsement, just days after Trump endorsed Mace’s opponent, she apparently traveled to New York City (which is quite a distance from South Carolina’s First Congressional District) and made a video in front of Trump Tower telling her supporters how much of a strong Trump supporter she is. 

Watch: 

I’m standing in front of Trump Tower with a message this morning…#SC01 #LowcountryFirst pic.twitter.com/CpmMYA63qt

— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 10, 2022