Dem
51
GOP
49
Endorsements generally matter little to the average voter, but Donald Trump cares a lot about them and tries hard to get them. He is beginning to make some progress on that front. The bloc he most wants consists of the 49 Republican senators. Their value is that if enough senators back Trump, the message that sends to Nikki Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is that they are toast (and burnt toast, at that), ready to be disposed of.
A couple of easy ones were Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND). They naturally supported their own governor, Doug Burgum (R-ND), for as long as he was in (which was not all that long, despite giving folks $20 gift cards for a $1 donation). Trump long ago understood that they had no choice but to support their state's favorite son, but he kept whispering in Hoeven's ear. Hoeven said that Burgum was not only his governor, but also a personal friend. Trump told him that he understood, so he could wait until Burgum was gone. When Burgum dropped out, both North Dakota senators endorsed Trump.
Another recent convert is Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), who has been in the Senate only 1 year now. She is on the RNC's advisory council and the RNC frowns upon members and advisors from picking sides, but she nevertheless has endorsed Trump. She is not really that Trumpy, but she is young and inexperienced and probably decided that incurring Trump's wrath is not a smart career move. She is also surely aware that 47 of the other 48 Republican senators despise the senior senator from Alabama, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), for his efforts blocking military promotions. By being a team player, Britt is making it more likely that when something comes up involving Alabama, the Senate leadership is sure to go to her for advice, even though she is only 41 and the junior senator.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the only senator who could pass for a chameleon without getting into a costume, has now endorsed Trump. Does he even like Trump? No, not at all. But he is scared of something Trump might be able to do to him, so he endorsed him—for the moment. But if Nikki Haley catches fire, he could jump off Trump's bandwagon and onto hers in an instant.
Not every Republican senator has endorsed Trump, though. In fact, only 18 of the 49 have. Some of the holdouts are fairly open about it. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) noted that 18 < 49/2; in other words, Trump's endorsements are "less than half of the Senate GOP. So it probably reflects his support in the general public. I am not planning on doing any endorsements at this point." (English translation: "Trump's an idiot and a menace and I'm going to pray that someone else is the nominee.")
Trump also got a major endorsement in the House. On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) threw in the towel and said: "I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican House and Senate." Is he really looking forward to it? Absolutely not. He's probably scared to death of the thought, knowing how Trump dumps on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) all the time. But Scalise knows which way the wind is blowing. (V)