National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) says Republicans do not need an upset to hold the Senate on Tuesday — just their own voters showing up at the polls.
Scott, appearing on Breitbart News Saturday with host Matthew Boyle, said he expects Republicans could pick up Senate seats in Michigan, New Hampshire, and Minnesota on top of holding the majority.
“The most important thing for us to hold the majority is to trust the president when he says he’s on the ballot. This midterm election is in fact about protecting the America we love. And that means if Republican voters vote, we win,” Scott said. “We don’t need a miracle. We’re not looking for the Hail Mary.”
Scott pointed to a turnout statistic President Donald Trump has cited as his benchmark for what Republicans need to replicate this cycle.
“We just need Republican voters to do what we do when President Trump is on the ballot. He says there’s a 49.2% increase in vote turnout. If we do our part, we win.”
Michigan, New Hampshire, and Minnesota were among ten contests Scott had placed on a toss-up map at the end of September. In Ohio, where Republican Sen. Jon Husted is running, Scott argued public polling understates GOP support because many Republican voters simply refuse to talk to pollsters.
“So how do you actually poll people who don’t respond to pollsters? The answer is simple. You don’t. And therefore, I think the polls are off. I think President Trump is right. And we are going to make sure that because America is on the ballot, patriots all across this country, including in Ohio, must come out and vote,” Scott said.
Scott urged Republicans to vote as though Trump himself were on the ballot and framed turnout as a group effort rather than an individual one.
“Your neighbors, your friends, your ugly relatives should go with you to vote. And if that happens, and I know that it will because we love the America we have, when that happens, we will wake up Wednesday morning and, hallelujah, and thank you Jesus, because we will be in the majority.”
Not every Republican is projecting the same confidence. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Saturday that his state cannot be taken for granted in his Senate bid, calling it the toughest race of the 20 campaigns he has run.
Republicans currently hold the Senate 53-47. Democrats would need to flip four seats while losing none of their own to take control of the chamber.
