The North Carolina intervention is merely the latest sabotage from the former president threatening to upend the Senate landscape. Last month, he slammed Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, seen as a top contender for the state’s Senate race, as “lackluster” for not joining other state Republicans in entertaining conspiracy theories about last year’s election. His endorsement of celebrity supporter Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate race all but froze the nascent field against Sen. Raphael Warnock, even as the former running back isn’t showing signs of laying the groundwork for the big-time battleground race next year. These are all closely watched swing-state races where the quality of candidates typically means the difference between winning and losing. “The key is to do nothing to provoke him. There’s a big difference between Trump endorsing someone and trying to kill you. The trick here is not to piss Trump off,” said the GOP strategist, offering advice to challengers running against a Trump-endorsed candidate. The strategist acknowledged that going against Trump’s choice, given his near-perfect endorsement record in GOP primaries, is a tough challenge.