CHANGE? GOP Senate hopefuls reluctant to back McConnell as leader.

The Hill asked nearly two dozen Senate candidates this week if they would support McConnell as leader if elected. Not one campaign said outright that they would support him, although two candidates appear to have expressed support in the past.

Several candidates declared their opposition to McConnell and attacked their GOP primary opponents for not taking a stance on the question. Other candidates deflected, or spoke on background about the bind they’re in over the question of McConnell’s leadership. Most candidates were eager to avoid the question entirely, and ignored multiple requests for comment.

The candidate survey underscores the tricky balancing act facing Republican Senate candidates in 2018, which is shaping up to be a proxy war between the party establishment and its grass-roots base.

Part of the reason the Democrats are in such bad shape is the huge number of Obama-to-Trump Democrats, who seem to be mostly sticking with the GOP in the 2017-18 cycle. Those voters are reshaping the Republican party in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways, but at a best guess, the GOP has maybe two election cycles to deliver to their new constituents before they start looking elsewhere — again.