REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY

| 10:30 am EST January 18, 2020
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While things continue to look bad for Donald Trump’s reelection, if he even makes it that far, it appears things are going even worse for Senate Republicans looking to hold onto their slim majority. Out of the top ten Senators with the highest disapproval rating, eight of them are Republicans, according to a recent poll by Morning Consult. Of those eight, five are up for reelection in 2020. Republicans will be defending 23 out of the 35 Senate seats up for bids in November.

Not surprisingly, Maine Senator Susan Collins tops the list with a 52% disapproval rating. After repeatedly pretending that she’s not a political hack but then following up on her furrowed brows by voting in line with Trump, it’s no surprise her approval rating is ten points underwater. On Thursday she publicly stated that she’s considering voting to present witnesses and documents during Trump’s impeachment trial, but based on her history such statements are worth very little.

Number seven on the list, with a disapproval rating of 40%, Arizona Senator Martha McSally is apparently looking to overtake Collins for the “top” spot in the poll. When CNN reporter Manu Raju asked McSally on Thursday if she thought the Senate should consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial, she doubled down on her blind loyalty to Trump stating, “You’re a liberal hack, I’m not talking to you.” Clearly caught off guard by McSally’s response, Raju proceeded to ask again if she would comment on it. She again stated, “You’re a liberal hack.”

Given a chance to take back her statement on Fox News later that night, McSally tripled down on it instead, and her campaign actually used her statement in a fundraising effort. For a Senator facing a tough reelection, such Trumpian behaviors are likely to infuriate independents and moderate voters. With her Democratic opponent and former astronaut Mark Kelly currently beating her in several polls, it seems clear that vulnerable Republicans believe their only path to reelection is to do everything to keep Trump on their side. We’ll see how that strategy plays out in fewer than ten months.