McConnell: ‘Actly. posble’ for GOP to screw up midterms with..

Source: The Hill | April 12, 2022 | Jordain Carney

McConnell: ‘Actually possible’ for GOP to screw up midterms with ‘unacceptable’ candidates

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said the political atmosphere is good for Republicans heading into the midterms but warned that the party could bungle its chances if “unacceptable” candidates win their primaries but go on to lose in November.

Republicans are feeling optimistic about their chances to win back the Senate, but they face several messy primaries that could have ramifications for the general election map and the GOP’s chances of picking up, or holding on to, a seat.

McConnell, speaking at a chamber event in Kentucky, said that 1994 had been the best year for Republicans and that the atmosphere heading into November “is better than it was in 1994.”

“From an atmospheric point of view, it’s a perfect storm of problems for the Democrats,” McConnell said. “How could you screw this up? It’s actually possible. And we’ve had some experience with that in the past.”

“In the Senate, if you look at where we have to compete in order to get into a majority, there are places that are competitive in the general election. So you can’t nominate somebody who’s just sort of unacceptable to a broader group of people and win. We had that experience in 2010 and 2012,” McConnell added.

To win back the Senate in November, Republicans would need a net pickup of just one seat to tip the current 50-50 balance. Republicans are defending 21 seats, compared to Democrats’ 14, including two seats currently held by Republicans that are in states President Biden won in 2020.

Five seats are rated by The Cook Political Report as toss-ups. Three of those — Nevada, Georgia and Arizona — are currently held by Democrats, while two — Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — are currently held by Republicans. In Pennsylvania, GOP Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring.

Meanwhile, three of the seats currently held by Republicans are ranked as “lean” Republican: Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. In Florida, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio is running for reelection, while Ohio and North Carolina are open races because GOP Sens. Rob Portman and Richard Burr are retiring.

Only one seat currently held by Democrats is ranked “lean” Democrat: New Hampshire, where Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is running for reelection.

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