re: #482 dangerman

flake isnt running for reelection because he doesnt think he can win a statewide race

do i have to explain the rest?

He retires from the Senate, spends some time in the political wilderness, allows Trump to become more unstable, and then runs as the No True Scotsman conservative that Never Trumpers (and what I assume will be a thing by 2020 in the GOP: No More Trumpers) can rally around. It’s 8 months of “Republicans in Disarray” stories and even though Flake has no chance, because like Ryan he doesn’t realize that his constituency doesn’t really exist anymore (at least not inside the GOP), it weakens Trump who can’t just spend 2020 being president (which is the true incumbent’s advantage). Ultimately, this leads to Trump being soundly defeated, hopefully by someone like Kamala Harris so that he’ll have the indignity (in whatever is left of his addled mind) of being beaten by a woman and a minority at the same time.