GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “As one of a few centrist Republicans in what is effectively a 50-49 Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has enormous sway over the congressional agenda. Sometimes she wishes she had a little less of it. Murkowski is looking ahead to November for help. Because of a very favorable election map, Republicans could conceivably pick up Senate seats even if Democrats take the House. And a gain of even a seat or two would change the entire complexion of the Senate. With even a slightly larger GOP majority, no longer could Murkowski or her independent-minded brethren like Susan Collins of Maine or Rand Paul of Kentucky effectively dictate which nominees or majority-vote legislation make it through the chamber…And yet the GOP ambition to give itself just a little breathing room underscores how the Senate map has shifted toward Democrats in the past 18 months. A filibuster-proof majority after 2018 once seemed a possibility given the 10 Democratic incumbents up for reelection in states President Donald Trump won. But with Senate Democrats in Ohio, Pennsylvania and even West Virginia and Montana looking increasingly safe, Republicans find themselves fighting for a majority that will simply allow them to confirm Trump’s nominees without a dose of daily drama.”
–Burgess Everett, “‘Excruciating’: GOP desperately fights to pad Senate majority,” Politico, July 31, 2018 5:07 am