Senate campaign chief 'optimistic' for GOP majority despite darkening midterm climate
PALM BEACH, Fla. — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott says he remains "incredibly optimistic" the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority...
By Fox News · Fox News
PALM BEACH, Fla. — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott says he remains "incredibly optimistic" the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority in the fall 2026 midterm elections . But as Republicans battle stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation's capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and as the GOP faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump 's underwater approval ratings, Scott isn't sugar-coating things. "There's no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times," Scott said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at an annual economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative political group that pushes for fiscal responsibility. Scott in early February gave fellow GOP senators some straight talk about the party's chances in the midterm elections, when he briefed his colleagues at a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the room. STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING The NRSC chair told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, "54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side." Asked again in his Fox News Digital interview Saturday, Scott said, "I think we have a possibility of more than 53 seats." MAJORITY AT RISK? — THESE SIX GOP HELD SENATE SEATS MOST AT JEAPARDY "The good news is we have a president who made promises, he's been keeping those promises, and we have been able to recruit the highest quality candidates anyone could want in every single battleground state," Scott said. Highlighting seats the GOP's aiming to flip, Scott pointed to Georgia, where Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in 2026. He also spotlighted open Democratic-held se…