Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) pressed Georgia leaders to coalesce behind a single candidate to flip the key Senate seat red, warning that having three GOP contenders ahead of the primary would make the race “tougher.”
“We need to get it down to one candidate as soon as possible. And if we are able to do so, we have a chance to be successful there. But as long as we have three candidates, it’s gonna be tougher for us,” he told the Washington Examiner’s Peter Laffin during an interview this week, referencing Reps. Mike Collins (R-GA), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Derek Dooley’s bids to oust Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
President Donald Trump has not yet made an endorsement in the race, as the May 19 primary inches closer.
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Scott is the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which serves as the upper chamber’s GOP campaign arm. Ahead of the 2026 election, Scott said he is working “against history” to stave off losses in the Senate and keep Republicans from losing a razor-thin majority. He named Maine, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, and Alaska as likely containing the most competitive seats Republicans are defending. Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Maine are home to the four Democratic Senate seats the GOP views as the most vulnerable in the country, according to Scott, who is eyeing them as key pickup opportunities.
“For the last 70 years or so, on average, the Senate loses 3.4 seats when in power in the White House,” the NRSC chairman said. “So we’re running against history. I think we’ll beat history. 3.4 seats means we’re in the minority. My primary objective is to defy history by staying in the majority. My second objective is to maintain the 53 current seats that we have, which means winning these 22 red seats that we have to defend.”
Scott predicted that in the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans will end up winning “maybe” 55 seats, but “at least” 53, the number it currently holds in the upper chamber. In Georgia, Scott conceded Republicans face a tough race against Ossoff, noting the incumbent Democrat has raised around $25 million, “probably the top fundraiser of the cycle.”
“But he is also the most vulnerable Democrat on the ballot,” Scott said. “So I don’t think of him as impressive.”
In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins (R-MA) is looking to stave off challenges from Gov. Janet Mills (D-MA) and Marine veteran Graham Platner. In North Carolina, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is Trump’s endorsed candidate to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
In Iowa, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) has emerged as the front-runner to win the 2026 GOP nomination for a Senate seat held by Republicans, but that could prove to be unexpectedly vulnerable. In Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) is defending his seat for the first time and will likely face former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a seasoned political veteran, in the general election. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola is the top challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
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Scott gave special shoutouts to Collins and Sullivan during the Zoom interview on Tuesday.
Sullivan, he said, has held around 70 town halls and flies back to Alaska “more regularly than most people fly back to their homes.”
“He does that because he loves his state,” Scott said. “He loves being home, and he loves campaigning because he understands that the firewall for the United States of America might just be the United States Senate, so he’s doing everything he possibly can.”
Scott describes Collins as someone who has “learned how to walk to the beat of a different drummer” as a Republican.
“But she represents Maine in the way that they deserve,” he said. “She’s far more moderate than I am, but she is consistent with her state, and so we need to have a big tent party that’s tethered to the same value system.”
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Of challengers looking to flip Democratic-held seats red, Scott offered particular praise to Mike Rogers, running for an open Michigan seat, and Michelle Tafoya, running in Minnesota.
The fraud in Minnesota “has been so disgusting that it’s turned off a ton of voters,” Scott said, arguing the scandal has given the GOP a chance to pick up the seat. “Tafoya is a great candidate. She’s going to have an opportunity to bring that back to the red side,” he said.