NRSC Chairman Rick Scott Predicts 'Minimum' Two-Seat Senate Pickup 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), predicted Friday that Republicans will have a “minimum” two-seat pickup in the Senate, taking them from 50 to at least 52.

In a memo to NRSC donors, Scott said Republicans will defeat the radical Democrats in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania because of his strategy to spend early money in the races, thus “defining” Democrats early and impacting the media’s polling:

We are less than 60 days from the election and our path to winning back the Senate majority is clear. We are on track to winning a minimum of 52 seats – and we are fighting every day to get to 54 or more. Thanks to your investments, the NRSC has been able to spend heavily, early (as promised at the start of the cycle!) which has kept our candidates in the ballgame. Every Democrat we are trying to beat is under 50 in the polling right now and no Democrat has been able to pull away in the polls in our target states – even in states like WA and CO.

However, Scott’s letter also warned that Democrats have gotten a “cash infusion” in recent months because the Supreme Court ruled abortion is a state issue. The chairman said the NRSC is mitigating cash infusion by investing in research and polling to counter Democrat talking points:

Because of the abortion ruling, Democrats are getting a cash infusion. Dobbs has impacted this election cycle and no committee has responded better than the NRSC. We invested in research and polling prior to the ruling to proactively instruct and help our candidates deal with messaging in real time.

Scott noted the NRSC has raised more money than the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), $173 – $181 million, while the Democrats have about 25 million more cash on hand due to Scott’s early spending strategy. Scott has spent about 45 million on television ads. The Democrats have only spent $7.5 million.

Scott has come under fire from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for his campaign spending strategy. The GOP leader has suggested Scott should use his personal resources to further aid Republican candidates.

Meanwhile, McConnell’s net worth in 2018 was estimated to be $34,137,534. Elaine Chao, his wife, has accumulated an estimated net worth of $24 million in connection with her father’s shipping company, which is linked to China’s biggest state-funded shipyards.