KS-SEN 2020 Megathread: Marshall overperforms and wins

[JMT]

I guess we can safely assume now that there will be no last minute entry by Mike Pompeo to save Republicans from Kobach.

While McConnell has stated that Pompeo is his top choice for this seat, I imagine Trump does not want this to happen, as he would lose his Secretary of State as we are approaching an election. Pompeo knows this, and probably does not want to upset Trump.

A scenario I think would work for Republicans is this: Trump endorses Roger Marshall in the primary. This would make him the favorite to win the GOP nomination, and I think Marshall would be the clear favorite in the general election as well. In this scenario, Republicans get an "electable" Republican for the general election, and Trump gets to keep his Secretary of State. Is anyone else surprised this scenario has yet to play out?

[JMT]

I see why McConnell / Republican party leaders are still attempting to recruit Pompeo for Senate, but I feel like Republicans can prevent Kobach from being the nominee if they get Trump to endorse Roger Marshall in the primary. Marshall seems like a pretty generic Republican who could win in Kansas, and if he had Trump's backing, he'd have a good shot at winning the primary and retaining the seat in the general election. In this scenario, Republicans hold the seat, and Trump gets to retain a Secretary of State that he likes during an election year (it could be difficult to confirm a new Sec of State in an election year). I'm curious why Republicans haven't gone with this strategy?