Republican Senator Daines Believes GOP Has Strong Opportunity to Regain Control of Senate

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the GOP has a good chance of regaining the majority in the Senate this year, according to The Hill.

“The good news is: We have the best map in a decade,” Daines said in an address before The Ripon Society. “It’s a chance for us to pick up the United States Senate. We’re … more than halfway through this cycle and we’re already halfway to the majority. We need two seats to win the majority.”

Daines said Republicans are in position to pick up seats in Montana, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico,  West Virginia, and Ohio.

However, Daines said “you can’t fall in love with this map” and cautioned that Republican candidates face “‘some very strong incumbent Democrat senators who know how to win in red states.”

“We want to have people who can actually win in general elections and can appeal to that independent middle of the spectrum, which is where elections are won and lost,” Daines said.

He also noted that the NRSC has “cooperation” and “help” from former President Donald Trump, who is running to return to the White House in 2024. 

The NRSC, under Daines, is taking a more robust approach to the nation’s primaries than it has for several years, and he told Politico, in an interview last year that he has a “strong relationship” with Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“The common objective they both have is to win control of the United States Senate back and put it back in Republican hands,” he added.