Can George W. Bush save the Senate for Republicans?

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 17 June 2016

With Donald Trump all but officially the Republican nominee, some in the Republican establishment are rallying to support senators whose reelection campaigns are threatened by Trump's divisive rhetoric. Leading the charge is none other than former President George W. Bush, who has fundraised for Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and reportedly has plans of getting involved in the reelection campaigns of at least three others.

Bush has said he will not support Trump for president, nor attend the Republican convention in Cleveland, and his father, former President George H. W. Bush, and brother, Jeb Bush, have mostly followed suit. Instead, George W. Bush has turned his focus to the Senate. "President Bush believes that it's critical to keep the Senate in Republican hands," his former spokesman, Freddy Ford, told The New York Times:

Friends say that the former president is deeply bothered by Mr. Trump's campaign message, especially his derogatory remarks about Muslims and immigrants. At the event with Mr. McCain, Mr. Bush stressed the importance of preserving the Republican-held Senate as a "check and balance" on the White House, suggesting that such a check was needed, whether the next president is Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. [The New York Times]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.