Senate Republicans, tantalized by the campaign of Virginia GOP governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, clearly have no idea how they’re going to replicate his candidacy in battleground races next year. Youngkin had the political acumen and backbone to sideline Donald Trump, while simultaneously doubling down on Trumpism, in order to appeal to multiple audiences.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota told Politico that Youngkin was “very deft” for a political newcomer. “It’s a good playbook. Hopefully, our candidates can sort of watch and learn.”

The problem for Republicans is the uniqueness of the Virginia election. Youngkin had no political baggage in terms of votes or a track record. He was also able to 100% capitalize on any voter dissatisfaction since Democrats enjoyed full control of both the state and federal governments. And then there’s the fact that Youngkin hasn’t spent the past five years of his life doing Trump’s dirty bidding and surrendering to his every whim.

In states Trump won in 2020, we can expect to see Republicans campaigning side-by-side with him. In Florida, for instance, Sen. Marco Rubio is already stroking Trump’s ego.

“The president’s viewed as a liability in the minds of some people around here. Not in the real world,” Rubio said in an interview on Wednesday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also attempted to stroke Trump’s ego, but instead muddled his way into a moment of clarity about Trump’s drag on the party.

“Trump played it pretty well, not to give any more air to the Trump card,” Graham observed. “Being associated with an unpopular politician [like Trump] is an oft-used strategy.”

Trump was so smart to lay low because people don’t like him!

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah offered perhaps the soberest take on what was possible for Republicans next year.

“President Trump’s gonna do what he wants to do,” Romney noted. “He will clearly have a very substantial influence on primary campaigns.”

True. And Trump’s dominance of Senate GOP primaries will ensure that very few, if any, Youngkin-type candidates survive. As I have noted before, Herschel Walker—who allegedly made a habit of threatening to “blow” the brains out of his female partners—is on a glide path to the GOP nomination in Georgia. Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Sean Parnell, whose estranged wife just gave searing testimony this week about his alleged patterns of abuse, has Trump’s endorsement in the primary. In North Carolina, former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory would clearly be the more moderate establishment pick to run for the state’s open Senate seat, but Trump has already put his thumb on the scale for Rep. Ted Budd, one of the first congressional Republicans to announce he wouldn’t vote to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 win.

North Carolina’s other GOP Senator, Thom Tillis, who narrowly won reelection last year, offered the advice that Republican candidates “really need to study what happened in Virginia and model a lot of these campaigns about that.” Tillis added that “Democrats are going to do like they tried to do to Youngkin.”

The truth is, Democrats won’t have to try to do anything with the radicalized slate of GOP candidates emerging now. If Walker and Parnell win the party’s nomination, for instance, no one is going to need to mention Trump to point out that they are extreme and dangerous. Not to mention that Trump will be hitting the campaign trail for his candidates and no one will stop him—least of all Senate GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.