WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is downplaying expectations for Republicans to take back the Senate in the fall midterm elections, citing “candidate quality” as the reason.
Speaking at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Mitch McConnell said cautioned those in attendance about the prospects of winning the chamber in November.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” he said. “Right now, we have a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 country, but I think when all is said and done this fall, we’re likely to have an extremely close Senate, either our side up slightly or their side up slightly.”
History generally favors the party that is not in control of the White House does well in the midterms but McConnell has not been shy of saying Donald Trump-endorsed candidates could play into Democrats’ hands.
There are several examples of McConnell’s thinking across the country. In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman leads Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor and Kari Lake, who was endorsed by Trump, is losing by four points to her Democratic rival.
Meanwhile, Herschel Walker is trailing by double digits to Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Warnock is running for a full term after defeating Kelly Loeffler in the runoff election back in January.
The GOP has been in a similar situation in years past, specifically in 2010 and 2012 when the Republicans were favored to take control of the Senate but fell short due to weaker candidates such as Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle, and Todd Akin.
Projections have stated the Democrats’ chances of keeping the house are slim with FiveThirtyEight suggesting the Republicans are in good shape thanks to President Joe Biden‘s low approval ratings and much of the country concerned about inflation and rising prices, feeling concerned about the economy.
