EXCLUSIVE – The incoming chair of the Senate Republican marketing campaign committee says his recreation plan for the 2026 elections is easy: “improve the bulk.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, after his fellow GOP lawmakers within the Senate selected him to chair the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee over the following two years, informed reporters that his “ardour” is to be sure that President-elect Trump “doesn’t have two years with a Republican majority within the Senate, he has 4 years in management.”
In his first interview following his election as NRSC chair, Scott informed Fox Information Digital this week that “what we’re going to do is defend the seats that now we have and increase the map in order that we are able to improve the bulk dropped at us by the Trump victory.”
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GOP Sen. Tim Scott speaks on the Republican Nationwide Conference, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 2024. (Getty Photographs)
Republicans received again management of the Senate in final week’s elections, ending 4 years of majority management by the Democrats.
And it is anticipated that after a mandated state recount is accomplished within the Senate contest in Pennsylvania – the place GOP challenger Dave McCormick leads Democratic Sen. Bob Casey by roughly 25,000 votes – the Republicans will maintain a 53-47 majority within the Senate come January.
Whereas not as favorable because the 2024 Senate map, the 2026 electoral panorama does give the Republicans some alternatives to flip seats.
Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Gary Peters of Michigan are up for re-election in two years in key battleground states Trump flipped final week.
And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire might be up for re-election in a perennial swing state that Trump misplaced however over-performed from his 2020 exhibiting. In Virginia, the place Trump misplaced by simply 5 factors final week, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner might be up for re-election.
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“How do you increase the map,” Scott stated. “You have a look at Georgia, and Michigan, and New Hampshire, and Virginia. And if you happen to’re stretching – check out New Mexico and Minnesota. President Trump was very aggressive in these states.”
However Republicans can even must play protection. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for re-election in a reliably blue state. And Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina can be up in 2026, in a battleground state Trump narrowly received.
Scott emphasised that “the excellent news is so long as Susan Collins is operating, I feel now we have a shot to win. Final time she received by a number of factors. This time she’ll win by a number of factors. Thom Tillis staying in North Carolina is nice for our occasion.”
Within the 2022 election cycle, when the Republicans blew an opportunity to win again the bulk, NRSC chair Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was criticized for a hands-off strategy within the GOP Senate primaries.
This previous cycle, outgoing NRSC chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana bought concerned in Senate Republican nomination battles.
GOP Sen. Steve Daines of Montana speaks on the Republican Nationwide Conference, on the Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Requested if the NRSC will take sides in aggressive Republican Senate primaries throughout his tenure the following two years, Scott informed Fox Information “I feel one of the best factor for us to do is have a household dialog subsequent 12 months about what we’re taking a look at. How we’re going to defend that map after which make one of the best selections we are able to because it pertains to ensuring that we find yourself with extra seats than we presently have.”
“Thank God we’re at 53. I’d prefer to see 55,” Scott added.
Requested if 55 seats was his purpose, Scott joked “if it have been as much as me, we’d have 100 seats.”
Scott final 12 months unsuccessfully ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, earlier than ending his bid and endorsing Trump. The senator was a high-profile surrogate for Trump on the marketing campaign path this 12 months.
In final week’s election, not like in 2016 and 2020, Trump outperformed lots of the GOP’s Senate candidates.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) waves as he sits with Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump throughout a Fox Information city corridor on the Greenville Conference Heart on February 20, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina (Justin Sullivan/Getty Photographs)
Scott stated he needs Trump to take part as a lot as he can within the 2026 Senate contests.
“Day-after-day and each manner, President Trump, I do know you could have a full-time job. I’m going to ask you to have two full-time jobs. Let’s increase this map,” Scott emphasised.
He stated “that implies that each single day we want President Trump on the marketing campaign path, doing fundraisers, speaking to of us, as a result of that is President Donald J. Trump’s occasion, and we want to ensure we increase it, from the person to the motion. We’d like him to do it.”
A giant a part of Scott’s duties as NRSC chair might be fundraising. The senator was a high Republican fundraiser through the 2022 cycle, when he simply cruised to re-election in red-state South Carolina.
“We have now to have extra sources than we’ve had up to now so we’re aggressive within the states the place we are able to win. I feel we are able to win in additional states than ever. President Donald Trump has really given us quite a lot of runway. It’s our accountability to have the sources to win these seats,” Scott stated.
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The rival Democratic Senatorial Marketing campaign Committee was chaired through the 2022 and 2024 cycles by Peters, who will not be signing up for a 3rd tour of obligation as he’s up for re-election in Michigan.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who simply received re-election final week in blue-state New York, is making a pitch to chair the DSCC. Senate Democrats will maintain their management elections later this 12 months.
David Bergstein, the DSCC communications director for the previous couple of election cycles, highlighted that “in a difficult political atmosphere, Democrats made historical past. We received a number of races in states received by Trump. We dramatically over-performed the presidential outcomes. And for the primary time in over a decade, Senate Democrats have received a number of races in states received by the other occasion’s presidential nominee.”
“The end result of this cycle places Senate Democrats within the strongest doable place to reclaim the bulk in 2026,” Bergstein touted.
