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Republican Sen. Steve Daines, said he’s “probably not” going to run for Montana governor in 2028, while also saying on Thursday that he’d like US President Donald Trump to hold off endorsing either of the party’s candidates in the fiery Texas Senate race.
“But as I’ve said, I’m not retiring. I’m going to repurpose. I’ve got a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, Daines told Semafor World Economy.
On Texas, he said, “I think the best-case scenario right now is for the president to stay neutral,” adding, “I’d be surprised if the president will weigh in on that race. And staying neutral, frankly, would be a good thing at the moment.”
In Texas, Sen. John Cornyn is fending off a strong primary challenge from MAGA-aligned state Attorney General Ken Paxton. They are facing off in a head-to-head runoff in May after neither candidate took an outright majority in the first primary vote. Trump teased a potential endorsement in the race but has so far avoided weighing in.
National Republicans like Daines argue that Paxton, who was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, is a risky bet in a midterm elections landscape expected to favor Democrats.
“In Texas, John Cornyn’s the guy. We need John Cornyn to win that primary,” Daines said Thursday.
Democrats have already rallied behind their candidate in the race, state Sen. James Talarico.
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Daines, who is retiring this year, said Republicans face historical headwinds given that Trump is in the middle of his second presidential term.
“We’re in the second midterm of the president, so we call it ‘the six-year itch,’” Daines said. “You always have headwind. Think about Ronald Reagan: In his second midterm, the Republicans lost 8 seats in the US Senate. We might forget about that. Go to 2014, Barack Obama, they lost 9 seats, the Democrats.”
Daines argued that candidate strength could be a decisive factor in Senate races across the country, and he praised the “high quality” of Republican Senate recruits this cycle.
“Usually Republicans are the ones who shoot ourselves in the foot with the crazy train in primaries and so forth. We have a little bit of that right now too,” he said.
Asked if the “crazy train” comment could apply to the Texas race, Daines responded, jokingly: “It’s a possibility.”
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.