This Trump could be on the ballot in 2022

The Senate’s impeachment proceedings just put a big spotlight on the 2022 North Carolina US Senate race. GOP Sen. Richard Burr’s surprise vote to convict former President Donald Trump isn’t sitting well with the Republicans in his home state.

Burr’s state party voted to censure him, but that’s less of an issue — after all, he’s retiring at the end of his term in 2022.

But that puts an even bigger emphasis on the race to replace Burr and the Trump-aligned bona fides of any of the GOP candidates. That field could even include a Trump family member: the former President’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.

Already, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is still close with the former President, sent a strong signal on Sunday: “The biggest winner of the impeachment trial is Lara Trump,” the South Carolinian told “Fox News Sunday.”

Graham called the former President’s daughter-in-law an “almost certain nominee if she runs” for the North Carolina US Senate seat.

He even (basically) pledged his support: “I certainly would be behind her. I think she represents the future of the Republican Party.”

After the November election, the NYT reported Trump’s daughter-in-law was considering a run for the Senate in her home state (Burr had already announced his impending retirement). A North Carolina native, she married Eric Trump in 2014.

There hadn’t been much noise about her potential bid since November, until Graham threw her name back in the mix this weekend.

The Point: Will there be a Trump on the ballot in 2022? Lindsey Graham certainly thinks so.