2018, President Trump spoke at a rally in Topeka, Kansas in favor of Watkins and gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach, who later lost. Trump said that voting for Davis "is a vote for the radical agenda" of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and "the legendary Maxine Waters," a California congresswoman. The paper wrote that "even a moment's attention from the president was the best thing that could have happened to [Watkins'] campaign." In October 2018, Chelsea Scarlett, an Alaska resident who had worked on the same military base as Watkins, accused Watkins of making unwanted sexual advances. Scarlett said she did not file a complaint at the time of the incident in 2006 for fear of losing her job. Watkins denied the allegations with the response: "These charges are so preposterous they don't deserve the dignity of a response or publication, but Republicans face this kind of assault from the media every day." On November 6, 2018, Watkins defeated Davis by 0.8 percentage points, taking all but the two most populous and urbanized counties – Shawnee (home to Topeka) and Douglas (home to Lawrence) – which Davis won by wide margins. 2020 In 2019, Republican leaders searched for a primary opponent to run against Watkins in 2020. Former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer urged State Treasurer Jake LaTurner to drop his U.S. Senate candidacy and instead run for the District 2 seat. Colyer noted that LaTurner had $470,000 in his campaign treasury, while Watkins, a "vulnerable" candidate, had only $260,000 remaining in his. Watkins stated that the party's misgivings about his candidacy were due to his "outsider" status. After dropping out of the 2020 U.S. Senate race, LaTurner opted to challenge Watkins instead. On August 4, 2020, Watkins—who had been hit with felony voter fraud charges the previous month—lost the Republican primary to LaTurner. LaTurner went on to defeat Democratic Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla in the November 3 general election. Tenure According to a letter filed with the FEC, Watkins forgave $225,100 that he had loaned his campaign in 2018. His personal loans represented much of what he had declared as his wealth that year. On October 23, 2019, Watkins was one of about thirty House Republicans that intruded upon that day's confidential hearing in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) where Republican and Democratic congressional members had been taking testimony from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper. Watkins