Election 2017
Pat Toomey is almost the only Senate Republican up for re-election who hasn’t decided on Trump
Twenty-one of 23 Republican senators up for re-election have made up their mind on Trump. Toomey is joined by a senator from Alaska.

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey
FlickrPat Toomey did it again. At a press conference Wednesday, the Republican senator declined to say whether or not heβd support Donald Trump in the presidential election. Β Β
βAs I have said repeatedly, I have not endorsed Donald Trump,β he said. βThere are things that he has said, a number of things he has said and done that give me great pause and I have significant concerns about, so I remain in a mode of waiting to be persuaded. Iβve not made a final decision on what Iβm going to do.β
Toomeyβs reticence isnβt normal for Republican senators up for election this fall. This year, 23 Senate Republicans are running for re-election. Twenty-one have said whether or not they will support Trump in November. Toomey is joined by Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski as the lone members who have not publicly said who they will support in the election, which is less than 90 days away.
Even Arizona senator John McCain, whose status as a war hero was belittled by Trump last summer, made his decision, saying he would back him in May. Another senator, Indianaβs Dan Coats, is retiring instead of seeking re-election but also announced he would support Trump.
βSupportβ is the key word for many. They arenβt giving full endorsements but βsupport.β
Toomey hasnβt even gone that far. His comments about Trump during the last few months have mostly resembled what he wrote in a May 9 editorial for the Inquirer. He wrote that Trump wasnβt even his third choice for the nominee and that he objected to βmuch in his manner and his policies.β Then later in the editorial he came close to saying he would support Trump but then pulled back.
βAs a Republican elected official, I am inclined to support the nominee of my party. That doesn’t mean I must always agree with him. I didn’t agree with Mitt Romney, John McCain, or George W. Bush on everything, but I supported them. That said, Trump is different from previous nominees.β
The 21 senators who said whether theyβre supporting or not supporting Trump all made their decisions by June 30. Most of them decided in May, shortly after it became apparent Trump would be the nominee. Β Β
In the primary, Toomey originally endorsed Marco Rubio. In April 2012, he endorsed Mitt Romney. Though this technically happened before Romney was the Republican nominee, Romneyβs candidacy was essentially a done deal. Runner-up Rick Santorum withdrew from the race the same day Toomey endorsed Romney.
Katie McGinty, Toomeyβs opponent, has repeatedly attacked the incumbentΒ for not deciding on Trump. Penn Live released an editorial this week saying he needed to make a decision. Β
Weeks ago, most experts considered the race between McGinty and Toomey to be a toss-up. A poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac showed McGinty with a three-point lead. Β Β Β Β
Hereβs a full list of what Republican senators up for re-election think of Trump: Β
Senator | State | Decision on Trump | Month of Decision |
---|---|---|---|
Kelly Ayotte | New Hampshire | Support | May |
Roy Blunt | Missouri | Support | May |
John Boozman | Arkansas | Support | March |
Richard Burr | North Carolina | Support | May |
Mike Crapo | Idaho | Support | May |
Chuck Grassley | Iowa | Support | May |
John Hoeven | North Dakota | Support | May |
Johnny Isakson | Georgia | Support | May |
Ron Johnson | Wisconsin | Support | June |
Mark Kirk | Illinois | Will not support | June |
James Lankford | Oklahoma | Support | May |
Mike Lee | Utah | Will not support | June |
John McCain | Arizona | Support | May |
Jerry Moran | Kansas | Support | June |
Lisa Murkowski | Alaska | Undecided | N/A |
Rand Paul | Kentucky | Support | May |
Rob Portman | Ohio | Support | May |
Marco Rubio | Florida | Support | May |
Tim Scott | South Carolina | Support | May |
Richard Shelby | Alabama | Support | June |
John Thune | South Dakota | Support | May |
Pat Toomey | Pennsylvania | Undecided | N/A |
David Vitter | Louisiana | Support | May |