It’s a reflex Running for U.S. Senate is a pricey proposition. Candidates spent on average over $10 million a decade ago and nearly double that by 2016. The Citizens United decision means outside groups now pour in even more than candidates. With Democrats outraising Republicans in the Trump era, the GOP more than ever is looking to oligarchs for candidates who can self-fund (Politico): Both parties have relied on self-funders before. But this approach has taken on increasing importance for Republicans because they failed to counter Democrats’ massive grassroots fundraising in Senate races during the past two cycles. In 2022 alone, Democratic nominees outraised Republicans by $288 million in the six closest Senate races. The strategy is also an acknowledgment that the party’s reliance on super PACs funded by its richest supporters has been insufficient. In the last two elections, Republicans were unsuccessful in stopping Democrats from nabbing a narrow majority in the upper chamber. Arming themselves with better-funded recruits, many of whom can give their campaigns tens of millions of dollars, could help them finally net the two seats needed to reclaim the gavel. Potential self-funders for this cycle include: Tim Sheehy, the Montana founder of an aerospace company, Eric Hovde, a real estate executive in Wisconsin, and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a coal mining magnate. National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, is looking to candidates either extraordinarily good at fundraising or else swimming in their own cash. Hovde is considering a run against…