Long-shot candidate Evan McMullin might get the vote of a Republican senator

Sen. Jeff Flake.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) hasn't fully committed to voting for Evan McMullin on Election Day, but he also isn't completely ruling it out.

Flake has never supported his party's candidate, Donald Trump, and he told ABC's Powerhouse Politics podcast that it's a "possibility" that he will write McMullin's name in on his ballot. Flake said there has been a backlash against him in Arizona due to his Never Trump stance, and he's hopeful that when he's up for re-election in 2018, things will calm down. "I won't lie, it's not been easy," he said.

Flake said he doesn't think Trump will win the election, and he also argued that Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland needs to have a confirmation hearing before Inauguration Day. "Hillary Clinton will not likely nominate somebody as conservative as Garland," he said. "I'm not suggesting he's that conservative, he's just more conservative than somebody she would name, particularly if she has a Democrat Senate."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.