Erik Prince May Challenge Barrasso

Blackwater founder Erik Prince is weighing a challenge to Sen. John Barrasso in Wyoming’s GOP primary next year — encouraged by ex-White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Prince – brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — went to Wyoming over the weekend to explore ways to establish residency there, the Times reported, citing an unnamed source.

Barrasso will have the full backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Times reported — as well as political committees loyal to him.

Prince, a controversial figure as his private security contractor firm faced problems over its work for the military, has never run for public office.

But the encouragement from Bannon reflects the former White House strategist’s effort to shake up the GOP leadership with financial backing from the New York hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, the Times reported.

Bannon allied himself last August with Prince, writing in an op-ed piece that President Donald Trump should use contractors in place of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

• Jerry Seinfeld: I Have No Idea How Steve Bannon Made Millions Off of 'Seinfeld'
• Bannon: Firing Comey Biggest Mistake 'in Modern Political History’