TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024

Mitch McConnell says Trump's 2022 endorsements limited the GOP's 'ability to control a primary outcome' which led to 'candidate quality' issues

Mitch McConnell says Trump's 2022 endorsements limited the GOP's 'ability to control a primary outcome' which led to 'candidate quality' issues

McConnell said his approach in 2022 was to "do the best you can with the cards you're dealt," which often meant going along with Trump's picks.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for the Republican Party's poor showing in Senate elections this year, saying that the influence of Trump's endorsements limited the ability of the party to choose better nominees.

"Our ability to control a primary outcome was quite limited in because the support of the former president proved to be very decisive in these primaries," he told reporters at his weekly press conference at the Capitol. "So my view was: do the best you can with the cards you're dealt."

"Hopefully in the next cycle, we'll have quality candidates everywhere and a better outcome," he added.

McConnell's comments suggest that he and other top Republicans essentially had to work with the candidates who Trump chose, rather than attempt to wage a proxy war against the former president.

The Kentucky Republican noted on Tuesday that he had intervened in Senate races in both Missouri and Alabama. In Missouri, Trump essentially declined to endorse a particular candidate, while he switched his support to McConnell-backed Katie Britt in Alabama after a falling out with his original endorsed candidate, Rep. Mo Brooks.


McConnell also reiterated previous comments he's made about the party's roster of Senate candidates, including that he "never said there was a red wave." 

But it's the first time he's publicly tied Trump to the issue of "candidate quality," which McConnell first raised during comments at an event in Kentucky in August.

He again referenced the candidacies of Blake Masters in Arizona and Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, two candidates who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election and won their primaries with Trump's support, only to easily lose to their Democratic opponents in November.

And he referenced Herschel Walker, another scandal-plagued candidate pushed by Trump who was defeated by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia during a runoff election last week.

"Look at Arizona, look at New Hampshire, and a challenging situation in Georgia as well," he said on Tuesday.

"I do think we had an opportunity to relearn, one more time: you have to have quality candidates to win competitive Senate races," he added.

In 2022, not only did every incumbent Democratic senator win re-election — the first time that's happened with a Democrat in the White House since 1934 — but they also expanded their majority in the Senate to 51 votes.

Spokespeople for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×