It’s been more than a decade since an incumbent senator was felled in a primary challenge. While allies of Donald Trump are threatening repercussions for any Republicans who step out of line and don't support the incoming president’s cabinet picks, toppling a statewide officeholder is historically much more difficult than ousting a House member.
The last senator to lose renomination was GOP Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana in 2012, but he was beset by stories he didn’t own a home in the state any longer and had lost touch with his Hoosier roots. The Republican challenger who defeated him, then-Treasurer Richard Mourdock, went on to lose to Democrat Joe Donnelly after making controversial comments about rape survivors and abortions.
So while we have seen House members — particularly ones who crossed Trump or voted for his impeachment — go down or get forced aside, ousting a senator is a much more difficult endeavor. However, even the threats of potential primaries have at least partially forced more moderate senators who dared to cross Trump opt for retirement instead, such as Jeff
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