President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE is reportedly urging Maine’s GOP Gov. Paul LePage to run against Sen. Angus KingAngus KingSenator suggests law enforcement used ‘excessive force’ in Lafayette Square incident Trump administration could pursue drilling near Florida coast post-election: report Hillicon Valley: Chinese tech groups caught in rising US-China tensions | Senator questions controversial facial recognition group on use during protests | Study finds vulnerabilities in online voting system used by several states MORE (I-Maine) for Senate in 2018.<\/p>\n
White House advisers told\u00a0The Washington Post that Trump plans to call LePage to encourage him to run and offer his endorsement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president is actively engaged in fundraising, candidate recruitment and other efforts to help elect Republicans up and down the ballot,\u201d White House spokesman Raj Shah told the Post.\u00a0He declined to comment on LePage specifically, saying the conversations are private.<\/p>\n
LePage, a longtime Trump ally who supported him in the 2016 presidential race, said in July that he was considering challenging King.<\/p>\n
The Post reported that LePage has been a subject of White House discussions\u00a0regarding potential GOP Senate candidates for the midterm elections.<\/p>\n
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King, an independent who\u00a0typically caucuses with Democrats, has served in the Senate since 2013, and was the state\u2019s governor from 1995 to 2003.<\/p>\n
LePage is\u00a0the seventh least popular governor in the country, according to the report, and has faced backlash in the state for controversial statements\u00a0including\u00a0saying that he makes up fake stories to feed to reporters.<\/p>\n
He once referred to himself as \u201cDonald Trump before Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n