Rick Scott 'worried' about GOP Senate prospects as party struggles to raise money

On Monday, writing for CNN, political analyst Chris Cillizza broke down how Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is "worried" that the party isn't raising enough money to juggle all of its competitive Senate races.

"'Look, we have great candidates, we have every reason to believe we can win,' the Florida senator said in a speech at the America First Policy Institute summit on Monday. 'The issue we've got is we've got to raise money,'" wrote Cillizza. "Scott, who runs the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, is pointing to the vast fundraising deficit that some of the top-tier Republican candidates face with less than four months before the midterm elections."

In virtually every key race, Cillizza noted, Republicans are getting outraised.

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"In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock raised $17.2 million between April 1 and June 30, ending the period with more than $22.2 million in the bank. By contrast, Republican Herschel Walker had just $6.8 million on hand," wrote Cillizza. "In Arizona, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly raised nearly $13.6 million during the second quarter and ended June with roughly $25 million in the bank. Republicans remain mired in a divisive and costly primary that won't conclude until next month ... In Pennsylvania, Democratic nominee John Fetterman raised nearly $11 million over the three-month period, doubling what celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee, brought in. Even in Ohio, a GOP-leaning state, Democrat Tim Ryan outraised Republican J.D. Vance by a 9-1 margin from April through the end of June."

Scott, who took over as NRSC chair at the end of 2020, has generated controversy for Senate Republicans by introducing an "11 point plan to rescue America" that includes, among other things, making lower-income people pay more income taxes and requiring huge government programs like Social Security and Medicare be re-authorized every five years.

"Scott's move is strategic. He is hoping to wake up Republican donors (and the candidates they give to) to the fact that they are facing a serious deficit in the money fight at the moment," concluded Cillizza. "The reality, however, is that time is running out for Republicans in the cash dash. TV ads are already running in a number of states — Ryan, for example, has already spent millions on commercials — and ad time for the fall is starting to look scarce."

You can read more here.

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