ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump set off early alarms when he signaled an interest in Kelli Ward, a right-wing candidate in Arizona’s competitive Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat. But after reviewing the polls and conferring with political advisers and Senate officials, who warned him that Ward was likely to lose, Trump decided to subordinate his gut instinct for the bold stroke and ultimately stayed neutral in the race. So when Ward lost to her establishment GOP rival, Martha McSally, it was easier for Trump to back the Arizona congresswoman, despite her past criticism of him. Now, with a McSally win seen as crucial to preserving the GOP’s Senate majority, national Republicans are thankful they don’t have a family feud on their hands in the state. It was one of several cases in which Bill Stepien, the White House’s political director, was able to help guide the president — with polling numbers and a deep knowledge of national campaigns — in ways that don’t always match Trump’s shoot-from-the hip style.”
–Christopher Cadelago, ” Inside Trump’s crash course on midterm politicking,” Politico, October 29, 2018 3:48 pm