How the Senate GOP’s campaign chief is navigating Trump and messy primaries
Hebat Senate Republicans look at the prospects of a Donald Trump primary victory with trepidation, fearful his polarizing model and heavy baggage may sink GOP candidates down the ticket as their party battles for kontrol of the chamber.
But Sen. Steve Daines doesn't agree.
How the Senate GOP’s campaign chief is navigating Trump and messy primaries
The Montana Republican, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has spent the past year working to ensure Trump and Senate Republican leaders don't clash about their preferred candidates in key primaries, after the 2022 debacle that saw a bevy of Trump-backed choices collapse in the heat of the general election and biaya their party the Senate majority. So far, the two are on the same page.
Daines argues that Trump is "strengthening" among independent voters and that could be a boon for his Senate candidates - even in purple states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The senator says that his down-ticket candidates should embrace the former president, even as he's facing four criminal trials with polls showing that he remains a deeply unpopular figur with wide swaths of voters.
"What's key is we want to make sure we have high-quality candidates running with President Trump," Daines said. "Candidates that can again appeal beyond the Republican base - that's my goal."
In an interviu with CNN at NRSC headquarters, Daines detiled his latest thinking about the GOP strategy to take back the Senate, saying his candidates need to have a stronger position on abortion, signaling he's eager to avoid a primary in the Montana race and arguing that neither Sens. Kyrsten Sinema nor Joe Manchin could hold onto their seats if they ran for reelection in their states as independents.
And as Kari Lake is poised to announce a Senate bid in Arizona as soon as next week, Daines has some advice for the former TV broadcaster, who falsely blamed mass voting fraud for her loss in last year's gubernatorial race in her state.
"I think one thing we've learned from 2022 is voters do not want to hear about grievances from the past," Daines said. "They want to hear about what you're going to do for the future. And if our candidates stay on that message of looking down the highway versi the rearview mirror, I think they'll be a lot more successful particularly in their appeal to independent voters, which usually decide elections."
