Call it Sen. Tim Scott’s 55-seat strategy.
Scott, a conservative South Carolina Senator, extended his current 53-47 majority in the Senate to Fox News Digital after taking over as chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) late last year. He said he aimed to do so.
And Scott sets his goal this week in a Fox News digital interview at Capitol Hill.
“100%. That’s my stretch goal,” the senator reiterated. “The bottom line believes we can protect our current seats while adding at least two seats to our number.”
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Senator Tim Scott, Rs.C. reflects on February 20, 2024, as she sat with former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Fox News Town Hall at the Greenville Convention Center in Greenville, South Carolina (Justin Sullivan/ Getty Images)
Last month, Scott, who became the longest serving black senator in the country’s history, launched a campaign to nominate GOP presidential in 2024 two years ago, dropping out and endorsing Donald Trump.
“The good news is that with President Donald Trump leading the country, the field is widespread. The game is on,” said the senator, who was the top Trump representative on the campaign trail last year. It’s there.”
Scott added: “We added the NRSC needs to focus on mechanisms to ensure that the Donald J. Trump brand is reflected in candidates.
Senate Republicans enjoyed a lucrative map as they flipped four seats from blue to red in the 2024 cycle and regained control of the chamber.
But the powerful party — obviously Republicans now — have traditionally faced political headwinds in medium-term elections. Nevertheless, an early reading of the 2026 map shows that the GOP could potentially be able to launch an attack in some critical states.
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Republicans target the Michigan battlefield. There, Democrat Sen. Gary Peters recently announced he would not seek reelection next year, with Georgia being Georgia and First Democrat Sen. John Ossoff being considered vulnerable.
And in the swing state of New Hampshire, longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has yet to say whether he will seek another term in the Senate for reelection next year.
A few days before Scott was interviewed by Fox News Digital, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who leaned towards blue, announced that she would not run again in 2026.
Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, recently announced that he would not seek reelection in the middle of 2026. (Getty Images)
“Minnesota is an open seat. It’s four points,” Scott said as he pointed out Trump’s performance in the November presidential election outperforms his expectations in the state.
“We actually make a profit there and will be the first time we can bring home another red seat in Minnesota for a long time,” predicted Scott.
Asked about his GOP recruitment efforts in Minnesota, Scott replied, “I am delighted and amazed. We have already spoken about two highly capable candidates about more in the future.” Ta.
Referring to the current political landscape across the country, Scott said, “We have a wide open map. All we need is time. The next few weeks.”
But Republicans are also defending themselves in the 2026 cycle.
Democrats plan to launch an attack for reelection by GOP Sen. Susan Collins, and Republican Sen. Tom Tillis also rose in 2026 on the battlefield in North Carolina.
Scott admits that the GOP must spend a lot of money to protect these two seats. Also appointed in Ohio, where Republican Lt. Colonel John Husted was appointed in the Senate to replace Vice President J.D. Vance. Husted will run next year to end the Vance term.
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Pointing to a price tag that could well exceed $1 billion in these three races, Scott said, “We need to continue to have strong funding numbers when defending our seats and support our candidates. “I admitted.
The NRSC recently announced a record $8.5 million in funding in January. The committee has said it was the highest ever in January.
When asked if NRSC could keep up the pace, Scott said, “Absolutely can. The good news is that they’re already keeping pace to have another record-breaking month in February.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will speak at the Republican National Convention held at the Fiso Service Forum in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024 (Eva Marie Uzkatey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Pointing to the president, Scott said, “Trump brings a lot of enthusiasm. He made promises on the trajectory of the campaign, and now as president, he’s keeping those promises. He’s trying to do. Who says that, he’s at work.
In the 2022 election cycle, when Republicans blew their chances of regaining their majority, Florida NRSC Speaker Rick Scott was criticized for his tedious approach to the GOP Senate President.
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In the final cycle, Senate Speaker Steve Daines, the chairman of the NRSC in Montana, was involved in the Senate Republican nomination fight.
Asked what he would do when he competed for the GOP Senate primary in this cycle, Scott said, “Whatever the best interests of voters in each state, how we play and where we play?” I replied that we would make state-by-state decisions about. We’ll play.”
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
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