GOP rep Duffy considering Senate run in 2018: report

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), an early supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, is considering a Senate run in 2018, several Republican operatives told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A handful of Republicans are already weighing a run to unseat Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in the wake of Trump’s stunning victory in Wisconsin, where Sen. Ron Johnson (R) also pulled off an upset win last month.

These Republicans include state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, businessman and Marine veteran Kevin Nicholson and Eric Hovde, who unsuccessfully ran in the 2012 GOP Senate primary, according to the Journal Sentinel.

{mosads}”The names swirling around are very strong candidates,” Mark Graul, a political operative, told the publication.

He added that it’s too early to predict the next cycle and that Republicans need to focus on delivering for voters after the November election.

Duffy, who’s served in Congress since 2010, raised his national profile as an early backer of Trump and has served on the president-elect’s transition team.

If he enters the race, Fitzgerald told the Journal Sentinel, “the party should unify behind him.”

Baldwin will likely have a tough reelection, but she will also be formidable opponent.

She served in the House from 1999 to 2013 before she was elected to the upper chamber. She was the first openly gay person elected to the Senate and she will join Democratic leadership next year as Senate Democratic Conference secretary.

Senate Democrats have a rough 2018 Senate map. They need to defend 23 seats, in addition to two seats held by Independents who caucus with the party. Republicans, meanwhile, only need to protect eight seats.

Ten of the seats Democrats must defend are states carried by Trump in the November election and many of them are Midwest and Rust Belt states.