Republicans’ “candidate quality” problem sank their Senate chances

Back in August, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans would have a bit of a problem in their effort to retake the Senate: their candidates.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate,” McConnell said. “Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.” The comment was widely interpreted as disparaging Trump-endorsed candidates with non-traditional political profiles or extreme views, who had won several GOP Senate primaries.

So, now that Republicans have indeed failed to retake...