Montana Senator Steve Daines, head of the Republican Senate Campaign Division, will choose where to put the influence and support of the National Republican Senate Committee to retake the Senate in 2024. It revealed that.
This is very different from the approach taken by Florida Senator Rick Scott, the last chairman of the NRSC, who followed a strict committee policy not to participate in the primary. The results of the 2022 midterm elections disappointed the Republicans, who failed to win a majority. This is partly due to the “qualification of the candidates,” or the fact that the far-right candidate won the primary but failed to win the general election.
in the West Virginia Republican PrimaryBetween Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Alex Mooney, Danes is picking Justice, who is popular among state voters.
“He’s a proven governor of West Virginia. He’s a very famous figure, and Alex has represented half the state, justice, the entire state. If you look at the poll data, [Justice] “He’s up more than 20 points in the general election. He will be West Virginia’s next senator,” Danes told CBS News Washington correspondent Major Garrett in an interview Thursday. Senator Joe Manchin is a Democratic incumbent.
In Ohio, Mr. Danes said he would not participate in the Republican primary to face off against Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. The main candidates in the race include businessman Bernie Moreno (endorsed by Ohio Senator JD Vance), State Senator Matt Dolan (whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team), and Frank • Secretary of State LaRose (not formally participating) is included. But Daines expects it to be.)
“If there are three candidates, [where] Anyone can win the general election, so I’m not staying up late worrying about it,” he said.
In his home state of Montana, Danes expressed his support for the former Navy SEAL. Tim Sheehy in the Republican primary. “Veterans are going to be a very important voting block in Montana,” Daines said, and had an “honest and productive” discussion with Rep. Matt Rosendale about whether he should be in the race. said Garrett.
“It’s Matt’s decision. If we can avoid a controversial primary, that would be the best thing to do,” Danes told Garrett, adding he hoped Rosendale would not bid. rice field.
Democrats will only hold a majority of 51 seats in the Senate, but they must hold onto 23 seats by 2024. That includes three seats held by independents in caucuses with Democrats: Kirsten Cinema of Arizona, Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Meanwhile, Republicans can go on the offensive with just 11 incumbents.
Mr. Danes said questions remain about the Republican nominee in Michigan and Wisconsin, noting that the committee is seeking to field Rep. Mike Gallagher.
“I didn’t think we had a really strong chance of getting Mike running for the U.S. Senate, but it was important to have a serious conversation,” Danes said, adding that recruiting efforts in Wisconsin “will continue to be watched.” I want you to,” he added.
Despite meeting with 2022 gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake about a potential run, Danes was reluctant to endorse the candidate in Arizona. While he has not formally announced a re-election challenge, Senator Kirsten Cinema’s conversion to the Independent Party and Democratic Rep. Rep. It is expected to create an interesting three-way election campaign in the state. Like Democrats or Republicans.
Danes expects Cinema’s independent candidacy to be “difficult” to succeed, and believes that Cinema’s candidacy would put Republicans in a favorable position to win seats.
“I think it’s a very winnable race to win in Arizona as a Republican. I want to be able to focus on the future. They don’t want to hear complaints about the past. They want to know what you’re going to do.” We want to work on the issue and look to the future,” Daines said, indirectly referring to the election denialism associated with Lake.
After his 2022 loss, Lake has launched a string of unsuccessful and unsubstantiated legal challenges, supporting former President Donald Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Danes said he believes “looking back is not a winning strategy” across the map.
“[Lake’s] very clever “She says very clearly that if she focuses on the future of this country and the problems facing this country and not on what happened in the past, I think it will be a competitive race,” said Danes. said Mr.
Mr. Danes said he could support Mr. Lake if he ran for office, but he also indicated that he was somewhat supportive of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb’s candidacy.
“We’ll see what happens in the end. There’s Sheriff Mark Lamb in that election and he’s a good guy. It turns out that sheriffs can be formally elected statewide.” We’ve seen it happen with the Lombardo Sheriff in Nevada, now with the Lombardo governor, and when you think of border states like Arizona, it’s about the out-of-control situation on the southern border. A career like that of a sheriff will appeal very well to voters,” Danes said.
While Trump has voiced his endorsement through the 2022 Republican Senate primary, Danes said he would work more closely with his predecessor in 2024. Danes endorses Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“We chat a lot, and he’s looking at these races very thoughtfully now. He understands that it’s important to have contenders who can win,” Daines said. said. “As you may have noticed, there has been no wave of support so far because we have had thoughtful discussions and I think we are on the same page.”
