WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is mulling a run for Senate in Kansas next year.
In a lengthy phone interview with Fox & Friends, Trump said Pompeo would "easily" win the seat opened by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.
"He loves the people of Kansas. If he thought that there was a chance of losing that seat, I think he would do that and he would win in a landslide because they love him in Kansas," Trump said.
Pompeo's office declined to comment on the president's remarks, which come after months of speculation that he might give up his post as top diplomat to launch a Senate run.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has repeatedly encouraged the former Wichita congressman to enter the race.
Pompeo has downplayed his interest, but Trump's comments ensure that the buzz will persist. Kansas has a filing deadline of June 1, later than many states.
Trump's remarks will make it easier for Pompeo to navigate an exit from his Cabinet position.
"The blessing," said Jared Suhh, a Kansas-based Republican strategist who has advised Sen. Jerry Moran's campaigns in the state.
National Republicans fear that the seat could be in danger of flipping if former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the GOP's unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 2018, captures the party's nomination.
Trump didn't specifically refer to Kobach, but suggested in his interview that Pompeo would run "if I thought they had somebody out there that couldn't win."
Pompeo's timeline has repeatedly been pushed back, however, and further complicated by the House impeachment inquiry, where witness testimony has directly implicated him in Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate one of his political rivals.
Kansas has not gone Democratic in a Senate race since 1932. The last competitive race was in the 1974 aftermath of the Watergate scandal, when Democrat Rep. William Roy narrowly lost to incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Dole. The Democratic establishment in Kansas and Washington has coalesced around state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Johnson County lawmaker who switched parties last year.
Republicans believe that their best chance to avoid a close race is to entice Pompeo, who has deep ties to the powerful Koch political network.
A senior GOP strategist in Washington involved in Senate races pushed back on the notion that Trump's comments changed the state of play in the race. McConnell and other Republicans have been upfront in their view that Pompeo's entry would solve any potential problems in Kansas.
"You can't pretend that this doesn't exist. And this has been the playing field since Day 1," the strategist said.
In the meantime, the speculation has made difficult for the current field of candidates to gain traction or raise money. Trump's comments on Fox News will only make that harder for Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, Rep. Roger Marshall and other Republicans pursuing the seat.
Wagle, who has largely self-funded her campaign, complained this week about the focus on Pompeo.
"It's time for the press to allow Mike Pompeo to do his job, and spend less time having to correct false stories. It's also time for the news media to start covering all the Kansas 2020 Senate candidates," she said Wednesday.
Wagle downplayed Trump's comments Friday in a statement, which framed Trump's comments as a commitment to winning Kansas.
"I am thrilled that President Trump is committed to victory in the Kansas Senate race, and I look forward to showing that, in the age of identity politics, I am the trusted conservative female who is best positioned to beat Chuck Schumer's anointed candidate, Barbara Bollier, in November."
Marshall's campaign didn't refer to Pompeo when asked about the president's comments and instead argued that Trump's statement should be seen as a dig at Kobach.
"This morning, President Trump said what we all know: Kobach winning another primary election would be a disaster and jeopardized Republicans' majority in the Senate," Marshall campaign spokesman Eric Pahls said in a statement.
