Republicans in the Senate are beginning to face the political consequences for opposing the president, the White House, and the Trump-supporting majority in the conservative population on key issues like immigration and health care legislation.
In the last week, Politico reported that influential Trump supporter and conservative billionaire Robert Mercer will be donating $300,000 to a super PAC backing Kelli Ward, who is running against the Trump-detractor and GOP Sen. Jeff Flake in the upcoming Arizona election.
The Arizona senator alleged that the GOP is in “denial” over the president, and has sparred with Trump on immigration policies, despite drastic decreases in illegal border crossings from Mexico since Trump took office.
When asked if the president would back a challenger in Arizona, press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “I think Senator Flake would serve his constituents much better if he was less focused on writing a book and attacking the president than passing legislation.”
Another Republican showing weak support for Trump is Sen. Dean Heller from Nevada. Like Flake, Heller is also facing a strong pro-Trump challenger in the primary. His opponent, businessman Danny Tarkanian, is the son of legendary Nevada basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.
