Senate GOP struggles to find challengers for some Democrats
Source: Associated Press
By THOMAS BEAUMONT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DES MOINES, Iowa — May 9, 2017, 3:31 AM ET
Senate Republicans landed a top-tier candidate in West Virginia but have struggled to recruit well-known GOP challengers in several states where President Donald Trump romped and Democratic incumbents warily face re-election.
Two-term Rep. Evan Jenkins on Monday announced his bid against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, West Virginia's popular former governor whose conservative record often puts him at odds with his party and made him a possible member of Trump's Cabinet. Jenkins, in a video, said Manchin changed when he got to Washington, spotlighting the senator's unsuccessful effort on gun control with Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania after the 2012 murders at Sandy Hook school.
"West Virginia values, not anymore," Jenkins says in the ad.
In Wisconsin, Michigan and other states, Republicans have passed on challenging Democrats. Trump's abysmal approval ratings loom large as does the typically rough going for the president's party in midterm elections. Democratic senators in states Trump carried last year have capitalized on their party's resistance to the president to post robust early fundraising.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senate-gop-2018-edge-numbers-struggle-candidates-47291245
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