One of the biggest problems that Republicans faced in 2022 is that the majority of Americans didn't want to vote for them. They lost all but one U.S. Senate seat they were hoping to hold onto and failed to take back others. The so-called "red wave" they were bragging would happen failed.
The Washington Examiner reported Monday that the GOP is begging Donald Trump to keep out of the 2024 race.
Steve "Daines has reportedly been in touch with the former president and Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son and a friend of the Montana senator, as part of a larger effort to keep all camps on the same page about candidate selection matters," said the report. "The goal is to avoid messy primary fights that left weakened some 2022 candidates in their general election contests. The stakes are especially high given that Republicans only need to net two seats to win back the Senate in 2024."
"If I were [Daines], I’d focus on his own election, but I doubt if he’ll take that advice," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “You need to learn from your past mistakes. If you don’t make adjustments, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, it’s insanity.”
"Sure seems like that would be helpful based on our lack of success in 2022," said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD).
"I hope he stays out because him getting involved last time led to us losing key Senate races we could have won," Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said. “I think it’s viewed [that way] by almost every single member of the caucus, if not all of them, but I think few will say it because they don’t want to get the wrath of Donald Trump.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) might end up facing off against Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), who switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP. He's much more popular than Manchin in the polls. The report claimed that Manchin is waiting to decide if he wants to run based on whether Justice does.
Daines is also looking to try and take out Sen. Jon Tester, a centrist Democrat who is beloved in deep-red Montana.
Then there's the matter of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party and thinks she can win as an independen. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb just filed to run as a Republican against her. It's unclear whether Trump ally Kari Lake would run in the race.
Read the full report here.