In that endeavor, the pudgy, triple-shirted Breitbart CEO enjoys the approval of the electorate.
Bannon has pushed McConnell into a public-opinion Thunderdome and, at least according to a Harvard-Harris poll, he is the favorite to leave. Of surveyed Republicans, 44 percent want McConnell to stay on as majority leader while 56 percent say he should resign. What's more, only 39 percent of those same Republicans oppose Bannon's coming electoral conquest while an overwhelming 61 percent support it.
Those numbers will feed Bannon's scourge and discourage an already embattled establishment. But will they sway incumbents? Maybe. Already Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona have decided to forgo their 2018 re-election campaigns.
Everyone in Washington is wondering whether or not Bannon is a credible threat after he helped topple incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in a special Alabama primary. Per this poll, those fears are valid, and Bannon is especially dangerous.
Comment: From the moment he left Trump's cabinet, Bannon has said he would fight for Trump's vision outside government. His goal: removing the GOP dinosaurs in the Senate and replacing them with MAGA supporters. It's an uphill battle, but if Trump wants any wiggle room to implement his campaign promises, it's a necessary one. How much might actually change remains to be seen, of course. The swamp is much deeper than the Senate, or Congress. It's the entire system.
What Trump and Bannon have going for them, however, is popular support, as this poll shows. The people are fed up. And once that can of worms has been opened, it's difficult to close. And the more that popular will is blocked, the more fed up the people will become.