WASHINGTON — Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the Senate Republicans’ campaign fundraising arm, has mocked members of his own party who have expressed contempt for their midterm election candidates.
In a editorial published Thursday on the conservative Washington Examiner news siteScott wrote that “many of the same people responsible for losing the Senate in the last cycle are now trying to keep us from winning a majority this time by making fun of our Republican candidates.”
“This is an act of incredible cowardice, and ultimately a betrayal of the conservative cause,” the Florida senator wrote, adding that giving anonymous quotes to outlets such as The New York Times or The Washington Post’s criticism of Republicans is analogous to working for Democrats. .
Although Scott didn’t mention names in his op-ed, he appeared to be taking aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. During a lunch in his state, McConnell recently downplayed expectations of Republicans taking control of the Senate in November, describing “candidate quality” as an important factor.
“I think there’s probably a better chance of the House tipping over than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, the quality of the candidates has a lot to do with the outcome,” he said last month.
Asked ostensibly Thursday morning on Fox News Radio about McConnell’s remarks, an outraged Scott replied, “This is an attack on our candidates and voters.”
“I clearly disagree with what he said,” Scott said. “We both agree that we want to get the majority.”
While he has vowed they can still take control of the Senate this fall, Scott said Republicans “need more money.”
He predicted Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., “would have a big win.” He said the Republican candidate in Pennsylvania “Mehmet Oz is still a bit down, but slightly.” And Scott said he was in Georgia on Thursday to raise money for GOP candidate Herschel Walker, calling him “a great guy” doing “a good run”, which he says is “really close” in the polls.
Scott used the word “Marxist” to describe Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, and in Georgia, Senator Raphael Warnock.
In his op-ed, Scott defended the field of GOP candidates running in the 2022 election cycle, calling himself a “cheerleader” for all party candidates and saying they have “incredible backgrounds and ideas. to improve the country.
But, he said, “when you complain and lament that we have ‘bad candidates,’ what you are really saying is that you have contempt for the voters who chose them.”
Any Republican who wants to criticize other candidates to help Democrats should “calm down,” Scott added.
Republicans have nominated several first-time candidates backed by former President Donald Trump in battleground states, such as Georgia, Arizona and Ohio, to run against veteran Democratic politicians. The party needs a net gain of just one Senate seat to take control of the chamber.
Frank Thorp V contributed.