Top GOP Senators, from Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to John Thune (R-SD), are warning against the Republican Party aligning itself close with former President Donald Trump or his chosen candidates in their bid to reclaim the majority in the U.S. Senate in 2024.

The GOP has a very strong chance of retaking the upper house, given that 23 seats up for reelection are held by Democrats or Democratic-aligned independents. Republicans only have 10 seats to defend, all in reliably red states. Democrats, on the other hand, will have to defend seats in deep red states like Montana and West Virginia as well as key swing states like Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton spoke with Thune for an article published Monday, in which Bolton reported Thune said “It would be better if Trump stays out of the way.”

“Sure seems like that would be helpful based on our lack of success in 2022,” Thune – the number two Republican Senator – is quoted as saying.

Graham echoed Thune, arguing that Trump should stick to presidential politics and let the Senate GOP’s campaign arm manage the strategy for retaking the majority.

“If I were him, I’d focus on his own election, but I doubt if he’ll take that advice,” Graham told the Hill.

“You need to learn from your past mistakes, if you don’t make adjustments, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, it’s insanity,” Graham also told CNN in a similar article also out Monday.

Graham was referring to Trump’s less-than-stellar record during the 2022 midterm elections, in which many of his handpicked candidates were blamed for losing winnable races. In key states like Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, Trump’s PAC spent money on the candidates he endorsed – with only J.D. Vance winning in Ohio. Trump was particularly blamed for losing key seats in Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Georgia in the 2022 midterms.

“I hope he stays out because him getting involved last time led to us losing key Senate races we could have won,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) added.

“I think it’s viewed [that way] by almost every single member of the caucus, if not all of them, but I think few will say it because they don’t want to get the wrath of Donald Trump,” added Romney, the 2021 GOP presidential nominee.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) echoed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a statement to CNN, warning that “candidate quality” will be the key to winning seats in 2024:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of Senate GOP leadership and former NRSC chairman, has long had to contend with primary fights between the party establishment and activist base – battles that had effectively cost them the chance at the Senate majority in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles, in addition to 2022.

“It never goes away,” Cornyn said of the primary complications. “Republicans need to make up their mind. Do we want to win, or do we want to lose? And I think that it’s that simple, and I think people are tired of losing.”

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told CNN he believed that GOP Senate leadership will have little influence on which candidates win their GOP primaries in the end.

“I’m not sure who the Republicans will put forward as their nominees, but normally the folks who get to determine who the nominee is are the voters in those individual states in the primaries. If we look at what happened last cycle, those primary voters tended to pick highly flawed candidates, and I expect that will happen again,” Peters added.

Whether or not the likes of McConnell or Thune can wrestle primary wins away from Trump, who has a strong grip on the GOP base, will undoubtedly be a dynamic to watch as election seasons gets underway yet again.

The post ‘Doubt If He Will Take That Advice’: Republican Senators Reportedly Want Trump Far, Far Away From 2024 Races first appeared on Mediaite.

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