Trump moving in the shadows to help select Senate candidates

Former President Donald Trump is working behind the scenes to help select Republican Senate candidates.

Many Republicans blame the GOP’s disappointing 2022 election showing on its candidates, who they saw as too far-right. The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s new chairman, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), is treading carefully, vowing to change strategy from 2022 but also keeping Trump close, Axios reported.

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Daines is aiming to grab candidates approved by Trump but who are still acceptable to centrist Republican voters and independents. He generally avoids selecting candidates who are more “extreme,” with the exception of Kari Lake, who looks poised to be the Republican candidate in Arizona.

Another theme of candidates favored by the NRSC are veterans — the favored candidates in Montana and Nevada boast distinguished military experience.

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Trump appears to be fine with the strategy of separating the candidates from himself. He has largely kept his distance publicly from Senate candidates. He has only endorsed three so far.

However, the strategy isn’t going over well with everyone in Trump’s orbit. Steve Bannon derided Daines as a “gutless coward” and said all the selected candidates would need to be “weighed and measured” for loyalty to Trump.