New Reports: Scott’s Political Ambitions “Jeopardizing Republicans’ Chances of Winning.”

New analyses from CNN and Florida Politics highlight how NRSC Chair Rick Scott’s “own political ambitions” are “jeopardizing Republicans’ chances of winning.” And while “critics inside and outside the party” want Scott to “deemphasize his personal brand,” the NRSC chair “doesn’t seem to care.” 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

CNN: How 1 risky decision could hurt Republicans’ Senate chances

• Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s (R) decision, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to stay entirely out of all primary fights in the 2022 election is a big deal, and a major risk.

• There’s already several examples on the 2022 Senate battlefield where Scott’s non-involvement pledge could have significant consequences.

• While Senate races in other key states are less well-formed, there are Trump-y candidates weighing races in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, who, if they won primaries, would almost certainly lessen the GOP’s chances — by varying degrees — in November 2022.

• If Trump doesn’t run for president in 2024, Scott will take a very hard look at getting in that race. And he knows that if he spent two years using the power of the Senate GOP campaign committee endorsing against the likes of Greitens and Brooks and Tshibaka, he has very little chance of winning over Trump’s base — a bloc of votes that any candidate will need if they want to be the party’s presidential nominee.

• So Scott sits on the sidelines — potentially jeopardizing Republicans’ chances of winning back the Senate majority in 2022 but strengthening his own presidential prospects.

Florida Politics: Rick Scott steps up personal branding amid ‘National Rick Scott Committee’ criticism

• Is Scott more interested in his personal brand than furthering GOP campaigns?

• Critics may snark that the NRSC stands for the “National Rick Scott Committee” and not the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but the committee Chairman doesn’t seem to care much either way.

• A tough piece in the Washington Post spotlighted concerns about, among other things, “how Scott’s interests as the leader of the party campaign committee and his interests as a potential presidential candidate might diverge.”

• Scott’s critics inside and outside the party may have wanted him to deemphasize his personal brand. But clearly that’s not the chosen strategy from the NRSC chair.

See also: National Journal: NRSC’s hands-off approach to primaries will backfire; The Washington Post: Rick Scott navigates Trump, winning back the Senate — and his own ambitions.   

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