Political Wire

You are here: Home / Senate / Trump Is the Wild Card in Senate GOP Leader Race

Trump Is the Wild Card in Senate GOP Leader Race

By Leave a Comment

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell never said the words ‘Donald Trump’ in announcing his decision Wednesday to step down as GOP leader following the November elections,” Punchbowl News reports.

“But it was clear that the former president’s influence on his party — and inside the Senate GOP Conference — was top-of-mind for the 82-year-old Kentucky Republican.”

Said McConnell: “Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults — misunderstanding politics is not one of them.”

“The big question now is what role Trump will have in picking the next GOP leader. Trump is the wild card here, the unpredictable element that could tilt the decision one way or the other. That’s the case with pretty much anything in the Republican Party these days.”

Axios: Trump looms large in McConnell successor race.

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.