Trump says Mike Pompeo might run for open Kansas Senate seat
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump appears to be opening the door for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for an open Senate seat in his home state of Kansas.
Trump told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that Pompeo “loves what he’s doing” but if he thought “there was a chance of losing that seat, I think he would do that, and he would win in a landslide.”
Many Republicans see Pompeo as their best candidate for preventing the race from becoming competitive in Kansas, where a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat since 1932.
Pompeo has said he’ll remain secretary of state as long as Trump will have him.
Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified in the House impeachment inquiry that Pompeo was kept informed of Trump’s effort to pressure Ukraine for investigations while military aid was withheld.
KSNT News political analyst Bob Beatty said the comments could impact the race.
“I think that, Donald Trump, by publicly talking about this, has essentially given his presidential okay,” Beatty said. “We have to read signals and this is one of the biggest, strongest, most vocal signals you can get from a president, which is well, ‘yes it’s okay if he runs’ to make sure he wins that seat.”