LAS VEGAS – Montana Sen. Steve Daines came to Vegas asking: The Senate GOP campaign chair wants more money to turn the chamber red.
“We have a great map, the best map in a decade,” Daines told hundreds at the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit, an annual gathering of Jewish community leaders, donors and GOP politicians.
“Kamala Harris can’t do much of anything well [but] they know how to raise money,” Daines said. “We need your help to close the fundraising gap,” he added, asking for donations.
Speaking to reporters after his speech, Daines broke down the Senate map as he sees it, describing the obstacle between Republicans and victory.
“I’m worried,” Daines admitted during a roundtable with the press in Vegas. “We have more states in the game than the resources to cover them,” he added simply.
Democratic candidates for the Senate have had a fundraising advantage over their GOP opponents throughout the election cycle, but the wave of cash that came with Harris’ rise to the top of the ticket is also flowing into the down-regulations. Earlier this week, Harris’ campaign transferred $10 million to the Senate Democratic campaign department.
Democrats face a challenging Senate map even as they try to defend their slim two-seat majority. Republicans need to pick up just two seats to secure a majority, or one seat if former President Donald Trump wins the White House, as the vice president will hold a tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
The best chances for Republicans to apply are in three GOP-leaning states. In West Virginia, Montana and Ohio, every statewide elected official is a Republican — except for Democratic senators, whose seats are up this year. In those states, Daines predicted confidence, citing reduced ticket splitting in US elections.
West Virginia, a state that Trump won with about 68 percent of the vote in 2016 and 2020, is already in the bag, Daines thinks. Democrats have also acknowledged that the race is no longer in play with the retirement of Democratic-independent Sen. Joe Manchin. Gov. Jim Justice, who made waves at the Republican National Convention by giving his speech with his dog by his side, is expected to win.
Daines believes that Ohio Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown and Montana’s Jon Tester are vulnerable to an increasingly polarized electorate that has split its vote between Republicans and Democrats less and less each cycle.
“It’s becoming more of a red jersey, blue jersey kind of result,” said Daines of the death of handing out tickets. “If this trend continues with Trump winning by significant margins in these three red states, it will be difficult for Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown to win races.”
Daines is also eyeing pickups in three states where Democratic incumbents are retiring: Maryland, Michigan and Arizona, although retiring Grand Canyon state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is an independent who is rallying with Democrats.
In Maryland, Daines acknowledged ticket sharing is a challenge for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. But Daines is also optimistic that Hogan’s qualities could help him overcome that hurdle.
Daines believes that the fate of former representatives Mike Rogers in Michigan and Kari Lake in Arizona will be closely tied to the outcome of the presidential election.
“President Trump’s result in Michigan — I think they’re pretty, pretty close to Trump’s number,” Daines said. As for Lake, Arizona, Daines believes his victory will depend on Trump’s slightly larger margin of victory. “Lake’s path to victory is with President Trump, who will probably win Arizona by 2, 3, even 4 points,” Daines said. “We’ll see where Arizona goes.”
Daines also believes Republicans can pick up seats in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin, which are also presidential battlegrounds. In each state, Daines also described races that came down to razor-sharp margins in races closely tied to Trump’s fate.
Despite all these pickup opportunities, Daines is still keeping expectations low. “If someone asks me what my number is going to be, I’ll tell them the most is 51,” he said. “I’m not projecting anything beyond that.”
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein told NBC News in a statement Friday that Democrats “are in the strongest possible position to defend our majority because we have better candidates in every battleground state.”
“We have battle-tested incumbents, great recruits and a winning message — while Republican Senate candidates are plagued by daily revelations of their lies, financial scandals and toxic politics,” he added.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
