Republicans resigned to the reckoning coming for the House in November's midterms are turning their focus, resources and dollars to ensure they hold — if not bolster — their Senate majority, The Washington Post reports.
The Democrats are the ones playing defense in the Senate, and Republicans are throwing big dollars and big names at the opportunity with a message to voters — a GOP-held Senate means continued confirmation of federal judges and possibly the Supreme Court, the Post reports.
"If I had to bet right now, I'd say we lose the House," major GOP fundraiser Dan Eberhart told the Post, adding that it's "galactically important" that Republicans hold onto the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hanging his and the party's hat on confirming conservative judges to the federal bench, calling his holding out to ultimately get Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court "the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career."
And with speculation swirling that Justice Anthony Kennedy might retire this summer, it is imperative that Republicans hold serve on their nine Senate incumbents in November and flip a few Democrats — defending 26 seats — along the way, too.
Enter Gov. Rick Scott's entry into the Florida Senate race to take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.
President Donald Trump helped to coax Rep. Kevin Cramer to take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.
Conservative Rep. Marsha Blackburn is a star in Tennessee running for Sen. Bob Corker's seat, ditto for Rep. Martha McSally running for Sen. Jeff Flake's seat in Arizona.
Sen. Dean Heller is seen as the most vulnerable Republican incumbent in Nevada, but Trump cleared the decks to avoid a costly primary, and Vice President Mike Pence will stump and raise money for Heller this week.
"Our donors will often say we need to do everything we can to hold onto the Senate, because there's a chance we may not be able to hold the House," Steven Law, head of the Senate Leadership Fund, told the Post.