MILWAUKEE — Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who chairs the Senate Republican campaign arm, says it’s the uncontrollable and unforeseen moments that are giving him headaches just months before Election Day.
Last month alone, two bombshells – the assassination attempt on former President Trump and President Biden’s disastrous debate performance – altered the course of the election. While both could ultimately help Republicans, Daines, head of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC), hopes these types of surprises will be kept to a minimum before Election Day.
“It’s the disruptive external events that can occur that you have no control over,” Daines told The Hill from the NRSC suite at Fiserv Forum when asked what keeps him up at night at this point in the cycle. “I just don’t know what else could happen in the next three and a half months and I can’t control it.”
Daines, who hopes to win the two seats needed to end the GOP’s four-year stint in the minority, added that Trump and Republicans’ response to the attempt on his life is “helpful” on a large scale, given the change in tone by him and the party.
“This is driving President Trump to a message of unity now, at this time after he almost lost his life,” he said.
The Montana Republican also maintained that the possibility of President Biden moving away from the top of the ticket does not change the committee’s operations or its efforts on the Senate map.
Daines said in May that he foresees more than eight seats that could flip in November, almost all with Democrats who are well ahead of Biden in one battleground state after another.
“This does not adjust or change our plan right now. We always realize that there are unknowns here. We will not adjust, now we have our candidates on the battlefield,” said Daines.
He also noted that the list of candidates for the general election is nearly complete, with the Michigan primary being the last pending. Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) is the heavy favorite in next month’s primary.
“We have the right candidates. It’s a matter of resources now, campaign execution, and I think we’ll come out of this convention probably more unified as a Republican Party than I’ve seen for some time,” he said.
According to polls released in a number of swing states on Monday by The New York TimesIt is YouGovDemocratic incumbents lead in high single digits to low double digits, meaning an uphill climb for Republican challengers despite Biden’s polling troubles.
Daines and Republicans remain confident in their chances of flipping seats held by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in two red states where Trump is expected to win strongly.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
