(Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) 
 
 Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL and founder of the Blackwater security contractor, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming after being encouraged to enter politics by Stephen K. Bannon, president Trump’s former chief strategist, according to a report in the New York Times. The Times reported that Prince traveled to Wyoming over the weekend to explore how to establish residency there and that he is interested in taking on Sen. John Barrasso, who has held the seat for a decade, in the Republican primary.
– The man who founded the controversial security contractor Blackwater is considering running for Congress, and he'll have the backing of Breitbart leader and former White House advisor Steve Bannon if he does. Erik Prince is reportedly considering a challenge to Republican Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the Washington Post reports, part of an insurgency against the Republican establishment being led by Bannon and funded by New York hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah. That insurgency was given a jolt last month when Bannon-backed conservative Roy Moore defeated Senator Luther Strange in an Alabama Republican primary. Prince is a longtime Trump supporter, and his sister is Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education. A Prince campaign wouldn't come without controversy. In 2014, 14 Blackwater guards were convicted of manslaughter, and one of murder, after opening fire on a crowded square in Iraq in 2007, killing 17 Iraqi civilians. And along with Bannon, Prince pushed a proposal earlier this year to replace American soldiers with contractors in Afghanistan that was opposed by Trump's national security team, the New York Times reports. And while Prince had an address in Wyoming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, his home state is Michigan, which could be a political problem for him if he runs. In addition, John Barrasso is a popular sitting senator who would have the full backing of McConnell and the Republican establishment.