Republicans have a problem, illustrated by the Pennsylvania Senate race: continue a lackluster record of hand picking candidates, or do nothing.

Senate Republicans have one clear edict from Mitch McConnell heading into the midterms: Embrace electable candidates who can reclaim the majority.

And there’s no agreement on how to get there: Some Republicans think the party needs to actively drum out risky primary candidates, while others believe attempted interventions in primaries would backfire.

It’s become a conundrum for a party that has a poor track record of hand-picking candidates, yet worries that doing nothing could cost them a chance at the Senate majority.

And nowhere is the downside of a free-for-all approach more potent for Republicans than in Pennsylvania.

A half-dozen GOP senators said this week that they hadn’t even heard of right-wing Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Kathy Barnette until reading stories by POLITICO and the Philadelphia Inquirer about her rise.

I think either of those could get elected in the general election,” said Sen|

Ted Cruz (R-Texas) greets the crowd at a campaign event for Republican senate candidate Dave McCormick on May 12, 2022 in Harleysville, Pennsylvania.

While it’s too early to compare the GOP’s plight to the debacles in 2010 and 2012 that frittered away competitive Senate races, there’s a rising sense of unease among party insiders that Republicans could end up with candidates who make a Senate takeover more difficult.

Whereas Trump is attacking Barnette as “very risky” in a general election, NRSC Chair Rick Scott (R-Fla.) says he’d be comfortable if Barnette is the nominee.

“The voters do a better job of choosing the right candidate for their state than people in Washington,” Scott said in an interview.

Some in the party want to try a different approach: rather than picking candidates in primary fields, they’d like to focus more on calling out risky Republican hopefuls.

That way, the GOP could follow through on its pledge not to nominate general election losers.

NRSC spokesperson Chris Hartline said in a statement for this story: “The NRSC’s job is to protect incumbents and win general elections.

Neither state, however, is viewed as competitive in a general election.

As much as McConnell and his lieutenants discuss electability, there’s also a disagreement among Republicans about whether candidate quality even matters to an increasingly polarized electorate and with President Joe Biden’s polls sagging.

Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said atmospheric conditions are so good for Republicans that it’s less of a concern this cycle.

“Yes, if you get somebody that’s just that far out there, we’ve run through that before where you win the primary and lose the general,” Braun said.

Like Barnette, Braun benefited from a three-way race in 2018, ousting two feuding GOP congressmen in his primary as Republican leaders let things play out.

She’s also focused on false claims of a fraudulent 2020 election, something Republicans have urged their candidates to avoid

Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said of Barnette’s viability as a general election candidate: “I have no real idea