The National Republican Senatorial Committee is ready to protect incumbent Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran from a possible re-election challenge by Rep. Mike Pompeo over Moran's about-face over Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
"I would hope he would not run," NRSC Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi
told Politico. "I would hope that Rep. Pompeo would make a decision to stay in the House of Representatives."
He called Moran, 61, who was first elected to the Senate in 2010, a "champion for not only Kansas values but also conservative Kansas values."
Pompeo's campaign
told The Hays Daily News on Tuesday that the fourth-term congressman, 52, was not ruling out a run against Moran in the Aug. 2 Republican primary.
The day before, Pompeo mocked Moran in a statement for adopting the GOP's position against acting on Garland's nomination, Politico reports.
He charged that
Moran had adopted "liberal Democrat talking point" in saying he was doing his job in calling for action on Garland's nomination last month.
During the 2014 election cycle, Republicans rallied behind Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts and Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran against challengers supported by the tea party.
Moran's efforts as head of the NRSC at the time also helped the Republican Party re-take the Senate and expand its hold on the House, according to the report.
"I'm not sure what [Pompeo's] motivation was," Moran told Politico on Tuesday. "We've always planned for an opponent; you always hope that you don't have one.
"But we've always expected one," he added. "This is the best position I've ever been in in a campaign I've run for office."
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