Heading into the November election with Donald Trump likely at the top of the ticket for the third time, the leadership of the minority Republicans in the Senate is hedging their bets and not promising the "red wave" they hyped up in the last two national elections.
With Democrats' hold on the Senate hanging by a thread, the GOP leadership is hoping to pick up, at best, four seats, tamping down hopes of a massive sea change in the chamber.
According to a report from Politico, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is cautioning the party will only go as far as electable candidates will take them, with Politico's Burgess Everett noting the 2020 and 2022 "debacles" for Republicans dragged down by Trump-supported candidates.
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“It’s important to not get too excited, because it’s noteworthy that in the last cycle, not a single incumbent lost. So what’s the message? Candidate quality,” McConnell elaborated. “It’s important to continue to say you want 51. There’s nothing wrong with getting more, but 51 gives you control. And I think that’s going to be really important, no matter who’s elected president.”
According to the Politico report, "It’s important to McConnell to break his party’s losing streak this year and hand his successor control of the chamber, particularly after the GOP blew several winnable election cycles during McConnell’s tenure as leader. He’s no fan of Trump, but a strong performance by the former president could turn a crop of swing-state Senate races into easier terrain for the GOP: Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and yes, even Maryland."
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) also attempted to lower expectations.
“If we come in with 51, it will have been a good day. If we come in with 52 it will have been a great day. Anything beyond that is sort of like going to a baseball game and hoping to see a triple play,” he explained.
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