Republicans are in disarray less than 60 days before the 2022 midterms election, according to report published online Saturday evening by The Washington Post.
"Republican leaders are scrambling to shore up their chances to win back both the House and Senate as inflation concerns fade, Democratic enthusiasm for protecting abortion rights surges and new fundraising challenges emerge in the crucial final months of the campaign," the newspaper reported. "Leaders have also been working, with mixed success, to cool down intraparty squabbles over their own strategic missteps and the quality of candidates in pivotal Senate races."
First-time candidates backed by Trump in GOP primaries have been struggling in general elections, including Blake Masters in Arizona, Hershel Walker in Georgia, J.D. Vance in Ohio, and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania.
"Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) put out calls this past week for his fellow GOP senators to unify and focus on fundraising, after spending much of the last month on the phone with donors attempting to make up for party shortfalls," the newspaper reported. "The messages of unity were meant to dampen distracting divisions that have emerged within the party over controversial Senate candidates backed by former president Donald Trump and the ability of the party to fully fund campaigns in the face of an enormous Democratic financial advantage in key states."
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, publicly clashed with GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the summer.
"Now the committee’s drama is spiraling as the loss of confidence keeps many big donors away," the newspaper reported. "Inside the NRSC, the mood has been defiant in recent weeks, with senior staff and Scott projecting defiance, and little sign that either Scott or McConnell plans a public reconciliation."
Scott's travels have been a source of controversy.
"Scott, who is not up for reelection, continues to feed frustration by traveling the country, even in these final months, to support his own political ambitions. He attended a $1,000-per-seat fundraising luncheon in Tampa on Friday for his personal political committees, which he has been using to raise his public profile ahead of a potential 2024 presidential campaign, according to an invitation obtained by The Washington Post. On Saturday, he was booked to travel to Iowa — the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state, where the Senate contest in not considered competitive — to attend a tailgate event before the annual football game between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University," the newspaper reported. "His critics were also enraged last month when, days after the NRSC changed ad reservations in Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania, Scott flew on his private plane via Dublin for a week-long vacation in Italy, according to flight records. Word soon leaked that he was on a yacht."
Read the full report.
