Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing President Donald Trump's secretary of state to enter the Kansas primary to save his Republican majority.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has indicated to McConnell that he's not interested, but the GOP leader has managed to convince the White House that the Kansas race is an issue for Republicans and has admitted the Cabinet official is his "first choice," reported Politico.
“We still view Kansas as a must-win state," said Scott Reed, senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "A weak Republican candidate in Kansas is risky and a vote for [Chuck] Schumer as Senate leader. Keeping McConnell as the leader of the Senate is the No. 1 priority for the business community, and it looks like it's going to run through Kansas this time."
Pompeo has recently told the White House he will not run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pat Roberts' retirement, but McConnell is hoping he will change his mind before the June 1 filing deadline.
“He’s made it pretty clear that he’s intent on staying where he is, but if he’s still open to it, I can assure you the leader’s probably making the best arguments he can,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the second-ranking GOP senator. “It’s a pretty high-stakes deal, and Kansas could be expensive and messy otherwise.”
National Republicans don't want former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach to win the Aug. 4 primary and will do whatever they can to deny him the nomination.
“We need somebody who is electable, and that’s a concern,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
If Pompeo stays out of the race, Republicans could turn to Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who beat former Rep. Tim Huelskamp, and businessman Bob Hamilton and state Senate President Susan Wagle are already in the race.
“Republicans have an unbroken streak of winning Senate races [in Kansas]," said Kobach, who insists the GOP would rally around him if he won the nomination. “The political atmosphere in 2020 feels a lot more like 2016 than 2018.”
Barbara Bollier, a former Republican recruited by Democrats to run for the seat, has outraised the GOP field in the first quarter, but she faces a steep challenge in the deep-red state that hasn't elected a Democratic senator since 1932.
“It’s likely the Republican wins whoever our nominee is, and I think President Trump will carry [the state] by a good margin and I can’t imagine that Kansans would split that ballot," said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), who won re-election by 30 points four years ago. "So I remain optimistic."