Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) is working hard to get his colleagues to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act, after Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) blocked Husted's efforts last Thursday to fast-track the measure. The measure passed the House of Representatives 417-3, a bipartisan feat in today's Congress. So, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has decided to push a procedural vote on Wednesday. 

According to Fox News' Chad Pergram, here's why:

Republicans view the opportunity to turn the affordability issue against Democrats – capitalizing on Schumer’s remark and forcing Democrats to take a stand. Either you’re for affordability (especially as it pertains to the toxic issue of data centers) or you’re not. Moreover, this could boost Husted in his competitive contest with former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. In fact, it was the Senate GOP’s campaign arm which specifically flagged vulnerabilities for Republicans generally and Husted in particular over the summer.

While many senators would prefer to be in the House of Representatives' shoes campaigning with their constituents, Thune is playing the optics game. After his failure to move the SAVE America Act forward, Thune knows voters have a dim view of the Republican Senate and his leadership of it. So, appearing as though the Senate will go to the mattresses over the Ratepayer Protection Act is a strategic move.

As usual, it's palace intrigue on both sides of the aisle.

Thune and Schumer want senators back home campaigning. If Democrats impede the legislation Wednesday, the Senate might hang around Thursday or that’s it until after the midterms. Regardless, Republicans will have engineered a vote which they can boomerang against Democrats. Or, at least help Husted and send him back to the Buckeye State with a win.

We shall see, particularly since the House did the work of actually passing bills: reportedly 696. About 400 of those bills are still waiting for the Senate's consideration. So, although the numbers detailed by Todd Starnes below are slightly different, the sentiment is the same. 

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Senate: Do. Your. Job. 

Did you know the House passed nearly 850 bills - more than any Congress since the 1800's? The House codified about 100 of President Trump's Executive Orders. Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans did that. 

There are as many as 700 bills languishing in the Senate at this very minute. What is the hold up? 

Why is Majority Leader Thune slow-marching President Trump's agenda? 

Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Republicans did their job. Now it's time for Majority Leader Thune and Senate Republicans to do their job. 

If Senate Republicans have time to attend a lavish birthday party for an English Bulldog, they have time to finish codifying President Trump's agenda. 

Voters are very close to sending Thune and his rogue gallery of RINOs to the dog house.

More from Pergram:

So for the Democrats, this is about playing defense. For Republicans, this is about playing offense. And the GOP is on offense primarily for Husted.

Wednesday will tell the tale. We'll see who blinks, and whether any of this will move the needle in the Ohio Senate race for the struggling Husted.