Trump is 11 endorsements shy of getting the entire Senate GOP behind him
Here’s a ranking of who might still jump aboard the Trump train this year
Notching enough primary wins to officially clinch the Republican nomination for president means Donald Trump can now charge right into the general election, but he has yet to win over nearly a dozen Senate GOP lawmakers who haven’t endorsed his comeback bid.
A 24sight review of House and Senate Republicans who have publicly backed the embattled former president’s 2024 campaign shows that he’s currently backed by 77% of congressional Republicans, getting the thumbs up from 169 of the 219 House Republicans – stay tuned for more on notable holdouts over there – and 38 of the 49 Senate Republicans.
His supporters range from Senate GOP leaders including outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and promotion-seeking Senate Minority Whip John Thune to all five Senate GOP freshmen including scorned State of the Union rebuttal pick Katie Britt of Alabama.
Those who’ve signed on most recently have done so somewhat begrudgingly, citing a “binary choice” between Trump and incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden that doesn’t leave them with any great options.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, who helped shepherd Trump’s $1.9 trillion tax bill through Congress in late 2017, held his tongue through the Iowa caucuses but relented once the presidential rematch was set.
“Sen. Grassley did not endorse in the presidential precinct caucuses in Iowa in order to encourage all candidates to campaign in Iowa and come to the Hawkeye state to meet face to face with Iowans,” a Grassley aide told 24sight. “Notwithstanding his decision not to endorse in the primary season, Sen. Grassley made clear he intends to support the Republican nominee for president.”
“We can't afford four more years of Joe Biden,” the Grassley staffer added.
Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who endorsed one-time presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott in the primary, told CNN over the weekend that he’d endorse the “Republican nominee.”
“I’m endorsing the Republican nominee for the presidency. And if that’s Mr. Trump, then that’s the best choice of the two choices that we’ve got,” Rounds said, noting that Tim Scott has endorsed Trump – and appears to be campaigning for the vice president slot – after dropping out of the primary race.
Here’s a look at the remaining Senate holdouts, ranked from least to most likely to give Trump their blessing between now and Election Day.
11 Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
The only Senate Republican to vote for both of Trump’s back-to-back impeachments, Romney has chosen to retire at the end of this year rather than stay in Congress for what could be a second Trump term.
"How could I possibly endorse someone who I voted [committed] a crime or misdemeanor?" he told Axios after Trump won the New Hampshire primary.
10 Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Murkowksi supported Trump’s second impeachment, which prompted the vengeance-seeking former president to send a primary challenger after her (who lost) last cycle.
The four-term lawmaker endorsed Nikki Haley during the most recent primary. Alaska’s presidential primary is over (Trump won).
Murkowski is up for reelection in 2028.
Murkowski did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
9 Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Another supporter of Trump’s second impeachment, Cassidy is tired of talking about the embattled former president and vigorously fends off endorsement talk.
“I plan to vote for a Republican for the presidency of the United States,” Cassidy told NBC over the weekend, never uttering Trump’s name and sticking to the vague response through subsequent follow ups.
He also refused to take the bait on whether he’d write in a Republican of his choosing on election day. “You’re kind of beating a dead horse on this,” Cassidy said in his final parry.
While Louisiana’s presidential primary is just up ahead – scheduled for March 23 – Cassidy seems pretty dug into the anyone-but-Trump camp.
8 Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
This centrist dealmaker and Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member has bemoaned the MAGA-fueled dysfunction that’s ground everything to a halt on Capitol Hill.
She was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted in support of Trump’s second impeachment trial, and she endorsed Nikki Haley in the recent presidential primary.
Maine’s presidential primary is over (Trump won). Collins will be up for reelection during the 2026 midterms.
Collins did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
7 Sen. Todd Young of Indiana
This centrist dealmaker has been critical of Trump for years.
“Nothing’s changed from my standpoint,” Young recently told CNN of his disillusionment with the former president.
“I trust the people I represent to make their own decisions … I don’t have anything to say about my own views” he said, leaving the issuing of rallying cries to individual Hoosiers.
His constituents will get their chance to sound off in the coming months; the Indiana presidential primary is scheduled for May 7.
6 Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma
In one of the weirder plot lines this cycle, Trump recently lied about endorsing Lankford’s 2022 reelection bid as part of his ploy to kill the bipartisan border package and deny Biden a legislative win. Lankford, meanwhile, has repeatedly blasted GOP colleagues for rejecting the months-long border deal he helped hash out just to give Trump something to run on.
With the Oklahoma presidential primary in the rearview (Trump won) and his seat safe until 2028, there’s really no reason for Lankford to bend the knee anytime soon.
Unless he really wants to.
Lankford did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
5 Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Tillis has been critical of Trump and the Senate MAGA flank for opposing aid to war-torn Ukraine. He also called the tanking of the bipartisan border deal “immoral” and chided his GOP colleagues for catering to Trump’s worst instincts.
“I didn’t come here to have the president as a boss or a candidate as a boss. I came here to pass good, solid policy,” he told NBC News.
North Carolina’s presidential primary is over (Trump won). Tillis is next up for reelection during what will be the 2026 midterms, so he might want to get a jump on placating the GOP base.
Tillis did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
4 Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas
Boozman has been a pretty reliable Trump ally over the years.
But with the Arkansas primary already in the rear view (Trump won), and Boozman not being up for reelection until 2028, the three-term lawmaker could just cruise into November without saying a word.
Boozman did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
3 Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky
The famously prickly Paul has been fairly pro-Trump since they clashed during the 2016 primary.
While he launched an anti-Nikki Haley campaign during the latest presidential primary, Paul recently slammed Trump for endorsing “worst deep state candidate” Rep. Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race.
Might they make up before the Kentucky presidential primary (scheduled for May 21)? To quote the former president, “We’ll see what happens.”
Paul did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
2 Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Johnson has been carrying water for Trump on MAGA priorities like investigating troubled presidential scion Hunter Biden and keeping GOP leaders on both sides of the Capitol on edge by strategizing with the combative House Freedom Caucus on spending fights.
Johnson isn’t up for reelection until 2028, but the Wisconsin presidential primary is scheduled for April 2 so he could come around in short order.
Johnson did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.
1 Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas
Moran and Trump have played endorsement tag since 2016.
While Moran isn’t up for reelection until 2028 – thereby making him safe through the next presidential term – the Kansas presidential primary is scheduled for tomorrow (March 19), so he may fall in line shortly.
(The Trump campaign often rolls out endorsements from a state’s entire GOP delegation ahead of local elections.)
Moran did not respond to multiple requests for comment about endorsing Trump this cycle.