Rick Scott says it will be tough for Republicans to take Senate in 2022

by Olafimihan Oshin - 08/07/22 12:55 PM ET

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott said on Sunday that it will be tough for GOP lawmakers to take back the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.

During an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan asked the Republican senator from Florida if it will get harder for Republicans to take control of the House and Senate chambers in November, citing victories for Democrats such as lower gas prices, the Inflation Reduction Act advancing and the military strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri last week.

In response, Scott pointed to critical race theory, the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, immigration and inflation, adding that his party has “good candidates” even though Democrats are “outracing” them at the moment.

“I mean, they have to defend inflation, high gas prices, you know, the Afghan withdrawal, an open border, critical race theory, defund the police, that’s what they have to defend because that’s … what Biden is known for, and that’s what that’s basically what Democrats are known for. … Look it’s an election year. It’s going to be a hard year,” Scott told Brennan.

“We have 21 Republicans up, only 14 Democrats. The Democrats are outracing us, but we have good candidates. And, I believe Joe Biden is going to be our key here.”

Brennan also played Scott a clip of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) during a “Fox News Sunday” appearance saying he believes this year’s elections for control of the Senate will be “very tight.”

“If things are so bad, then why is it going to be so tight for Republicans?” Brennan asked Scott.

“Well, first of all, we have very good candidates. I mean, the Democrats are raising good money. So we’ve got to be able to get our message out, so you know, we have to raise our money. We have to work hard, you know, we went through a lot of primaries, but I believe we’re gonna I believe we’re gonna win but it’s gonna be hard,” Scott replied.

“We got to raise your money, we got to work really hard for candidates- have to work really hard. Everybody is gonna to help our candidates, but I’m optimistic.”

Scott also voiced his opposition to the new Inflation Reduction Act, which on Sunday advanced to a vote in the Senate, saying the bill is “a war on Medicare.”