Idaho’s senior U.S. Senator, Mike Crapo, is up for re-election in 2022 and, as recently as March 5, 2021, the twice-impeached Former Guy declared that Crapo had his “complete and total support.†But after recent developments, I wonder if that support will hold.
Although Crapo wasn’t a member of the bipartisan group that negotiated the deal, he joined 16 of his fellow Republicans in voting to allow the infrastructure bill to proceed. That came as a welcome surprise to many of Crapo’s constituents, including yours truly, but Trump is likely not impressed.
Shortly before the procedural vote, the Florida man fussed, “any compromise with Democrats is poor optics for Republicans.†He argued it makes them “look weak, foolish, and dumb.†He also blustered, “If the deal happens, lots of primaries will be coming your way.â€
Of the twenty Republican Senators whose seats are up in 2022, five have announced that they will retire when their term expires. Of the remaining fifteen, ten voted in opposition to allowing the infrastructure bill to proceed and are presumably safe, at least for now, from the Former Guy’s wrath.
That leaves only five Republican senators on the ballot in 2022 who voted to allow the bipartisan infrastructure bill to proceed. In addition to Crapo, these include Senators Grassley, Hoeven, Murkowski and Young. The Former Guy has already announced that he will work to defeat Alaska’s Murkowski, who had the audacity to vote to impeach him.
In light of these developments, I have a few questions:
Will Crapo be cowed by Trump’s threat and vote against the bill when it comes to the floor?
If Crapo votes for the bill, will The Former Guy pull his endorsement of Crapo?
Will Crapo then be among those Republicans facing a primary challenger recruited, and supported by, Trump?
And, if that happens, who will The Former Guy anoint? I shudder to think.
Idaho boasts such a long list of Trumpian wackadoodles. Unfortunately, theirs is a very, very deep bench.
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