The Mcconnell Scott Feud Erupts Into The Light

McConnell — along with many other Republicans — has privately raised doubts for months about his party’s slate of Senate nominees and the chances of regaining control of the upper chamber in November. But with those concerns becoming more apparent, Scott has begun to dig in his heels. In an interview with Politico this week, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee acknowledged a “strategic disagreement” with McConnell. On Thursday, Scott wrote an op-ed for the Washington Examiner in which he accused “the very people responsible for losing the last Senate cycle” of “talking trash to our Republican candidates.” “If you want to talk about the need to raise more money to promote our candidates against the terrible Democratic candidates, I agree. If you want to trash talk our candidates to help Democrats, get off,” Scott wrote. “That’s not what leaders do.” Scott’s article did not specifically mention McConnell, a seasoned political operative known for his keen interest in his party’s approach to campaigning. But Scott’s message was unmistakable, coming just two weeks after McConnell downplayed the GOP’s prospects of regaining control of the Senate and made a subtle dig at the quality of some of the party’s candidates. “I think there’s probably a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate,” McConnell said during an appearance in his home state last month. “Senate races are just different. It’s statewide, the quality of the candidates has a lot to do with the outcome.” McConnell’s remarks were a public acknowledgment of a concern that has been expressed mostly privately by many Republicans. In some of the nation’s most heated Senate primaries, Republican voters have nominated largely untested candidates who were endorsed by former President Donald Trump but have struggled to launch their general election campaigns. In Georgia, where Republicans are trying to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), GOP candidate Herschel Walker has had to face questions about his professional background and personal life, including the revelation that he has three children he previously couldn’t divulge. acknowledge publicly, despite attacks on absentee fathers. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, polling has repeatedly shown celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, a Trump-backed Republican Senate candidate, trailing his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. In Ohio, a state that has drifted to the right in recent years, some Republicans have been caught off guard by how competitive the race between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan has become. And in Arizona, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a McConnell-aligned super PAC, cut about $8 million worth of ad bookings boosting Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters. The group’s president, Stephen Law, said SLF was “leaving the door wide open in Arizona” but wanted to reallocate money to other competitive races, as well as make up for heavy spending in Ohio. “A lot of these people — they’re struggling,” said one Republican donor who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the party’s candidates candidly. “I think if the Republican Party had been more in control, they would have put forward really electable candidates.” “I still think when it comes down to it, they can still win,” the donor added. “But if they lose, it will be their own fault.” Part of the frustration, according to several Republican strategists and operatives, stems from Scott’s approach to the primaries — a move that some Republicans say has allowed Trump to field risky Senate candidates with little, if any, prior political experience. . Scott, meanwhile, defended that approach, arguing that it should be up to Republican voters — not politicians — to choose their nominees. Asked about McConnell’s remarks about the quality of candidates during an appearance on Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Thursday, Scott called the comments “a shot at our candidates and a shot at the voters.” “The people in these states, they elected these people,” Scott said. “So respect the vote of the citizens of these states.” “I will fight like hell every day and cheer for our hard-working candidates,” he added. Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, said there’s no question the GOP faces a tough challenge in flipping the Senate, and that the quality of the candidates is part of that equation. “It’s always been a fact that overturning the Senate would be more difficult than the House, and the admission that that shouldn’t be a problem,” Heye said. “And now that we have much more difficult ground for the GOP, it should be re-emphasized that many of the curtains were wrong.” “The quality of the candidates absolutely matters, and we know that because we’ve seen Republicans give away seats over the last dozen years.” But, Hay added, whether the GOP Senate slate succeeds or fails in November will have little to do with the criticism it receives from anonymous political operatives. “Every six years, there were GOP representatives who swept Richard Burr’s campaign in the background — and he won every time,” Heye said, referring to the retired senior senator from North Carolina. Scott, a former health care executive and two-term governor of Florida, has reason to be skeptical of the establishment’s traditional approach to primaries. In 2010, he won an upset victory in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial contest, which many GOP insiders believed favored former state attorney general Bill McCollum. And it’s not the first time McConnell and Scott have butted heads. Scott ousted the Senate minority leader earlier this year after he released the “America Rescue Plan,” a political agenda that some Republicans feared would confuse their messaging ahead of the midterm elections. McConnell sought to quickly shut down any notion that Scott’s plan reflected what Senate Republicans would do if they regained the majority, saying the GOP “will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years.” However, the latest spat between Scott and McConnell comes at an inopportune time. With the Senate split 50-50 between the two parties, Republicans are hoping to avoid any friction within their ranks as they try to build a united front against Democrats this fall. Castro: ‘Most Americans Don’t Know Who Latinos Are’ Campaign Report — Alaska Unrest Boosts Democrats But flipping control of the Senate this year means Republicans will have to keep their current seats in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, and pick up at least one Senate seat — likely in Georgia, Arizona. , Nevada or New Hampshire. That doesn’t mean Republicans are pessimistic about their chances of regaining their majority in the Senate. A Republican strategist who has worked on Senate campaigns said any tension between McConnell and Scott stemmed simply from a difference in philosophy and likely would not weigh on the final outcome of the midterms. “I think when it comes down to it, they both want the Republicans elected,” the general said. “You can argue about the process. But if we win back the majority – and I think we will – you can be sure that none of this will matter.”

title: “The Mcconnell Scott Feud Erupts Into The Light Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-21” author: “Deana Carr”

McConnell — along with many other Republicans — has privately raised doubts for months about his party’s slate of Senate nominees and the chances of regaining control of the upper chamber in November. But with those concerns becoming more apparent, Scott has begun to dig in his heels. In an interview with Politico this week, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee acknowledged a “strategic disagreement” with McConnell. On Thursday, Scott wrote an op-ed for the Washington Examiner in which he accused “the very people responsible for losing the last Senate cycle” of “talking trash to our Republican candidates.” “If you want to talk about the need to raise more money to promote our candidates against the terrible Democratic candidates, I agree. If you want to trash talk our candidates to help Democrats, get off,” Scott wrote. “That’s not what leaders do.” Scott’s article did not specifically mention McConnell, a seasoned political operative known for his keen interest in his party’s approach to campaigning. But Scott’s message was unmistakable, coming just two weeks after McConnell downplayed the GOP’s prospects of regaining control of the Senate and made a subtle dig at the quality of some of the party’s candidates. “I think there’s probably a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate,” McConnell said during an appearance in his home state last month. “Senate races are just different. It’s statewide, the quality of the candidates has a lot to do with the outcome.” McConnell’s remarks were a public acknowledgment of a concern that has been expressed mostly privately by many Republicans. In some of the nation’s most heated Senate primaries, Republican voters have nominated largely untested candidates who were endorsed by former President Donald Trump but have struggled to launch their general election campaigns. In Georgia, where Republicans are trying to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), GOP candidate Herschel Walker has had to face questions about his professional background and personal life, including the revelation that he has three children he previously couldn’t divulge. acknowledge publicly, despite attacks on absentee fathers. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, polling has repeatedly shown celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, a Trump-backed Republican Senate candidate, trailing his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. In Ohio, a state that has drifted to the right in recent years, some Republicans have been caught off guard by how competitive the race between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan has become. And in Arizona, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a McConnell-aligned super PAC, cut about $8 million worth of ad bookings boosting Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters. The group’s president, Stephen Law, said SLF was “leaving the door wide open in Arizona” but wanted to reallocate money to other competitive races, as well as make up for heavy spending in Ohio. “A lot of these people — they’re struggling,” said one Republican donor who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the party’s candidates candidly. “I think if the Republican Party had been more in control, they would have put forward really electable candidates.” “I still think when it comes down to it, they can still win,” the donor added. “But if they lose, it will be their own fault.” Part of the frustration, according to several Republican strategists and operatives, stems from Scott’s approach to the primaries — a move that some Republicans say has allowed Trump to field risky Senate candidates with little, if any, prior political experience. . Scott, meanwhile, defended that approach, arguing that it should be up to Republican voters — not politicians — to choose their nominees. Asked about McConnell’s remarks about the quality of candidates during an appearance on Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Thursday, Scott called the comments “a shot at our candidates and a shot at the voters.” “The people in these states, they elected these people,” Scott said. “So respect the vote of the citizens of these states.” “I will fight like hell every day and cheer for our hard-working candidates,” he added. Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, said there’s no question the GOP faces a tough challenge in flipping the Senate, and that the quality of the candidates is part of that equation. “It’s always been a fact that overturning the Senate would be more difficult than the House, and the admission that that shouldn’t be a problem,” Heye said. “And now that we have much more difficult ground for the GOP, it should be re-emphasized that many of the curtains were wrong.” “The quality of the candidates absolutely matters, and we know that because we’ve seen Republicans give away seats over the last dozen years.” But, Hay added, whether the GOP Senate slate succeeds or fails in November will have little to do with the criticism it receives from anonymous political operatives. “Every six years, there were GOP representatives who swept Richard Burr’s campaign in the background — and he won every time,” Heye said, referring to the retired senior senator from North Carolina. Scott, a former health care executive and two-term governor of Florida, has reason to be skeptical of the establishment’s traditional approach to primaries. In 2010, he won an upset victory in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial contest, which many GOP insiders believed favored former state attorney general Bill McCollum. And it’s not the first time McConnell and Scott have butted heads. Scott ousted the Senate minority leader earlier this year after he released the “America Rescue Plan,” a political agenda that some Republicans feared would confuse their messaging ahead of the midterm elections. McConnell sought to quickly shut down any notion that Scott’s plan reflected what Senate Republicans would do if they regained the majority, saying the GOP “will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years.” However, the latest spat between Scott and McConnell comes at an inopportune time. With the Senate split 50-50 between the two parties, Republicans are hoping to avoid any friction within their ranks as they try to build a united front against Democrats this fall. Castro: ‘Most Americans Don’t Know Who Latinos Are’ Campaign Report — Alaska Unrest Boosts Democrats But flipping control of the Senate this year means Republicans will have to keep their current seats in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, and pick up at least one Senate seat — likely in Georgia, Arizona. , Nevada or New Hampshire. That doesn’t mean Republicans are pessimistic about their chances of regaining their majority in the Senate. A Republican strategist who has worked on Senate campaigns said any tension between McConnell and Scott stemmed simply from a difference in philosophy and likely would not weigh on the final outcome of the midterms. “I think when it comes down to it, they both want the Republicans elected,” the general said. “You can argue about the process. But if we win back the majority – and I think we will – you can be sure that none of this will matter.”