Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is “badmouthing” candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump to “dry up” their money,” conservative commentator Dick Morris said on Sunday.
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, admitted on Friday that the Senate may not flip to Republican control as the party deals with increased Democratic turnout due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, candidates perceived as polarizing to moderate or independent voters, lagging fundraising numbers, and a slew of disappointing polls in key swing states.
Polls indicate Democrats may be poised to expand their majority—despite initial expectations they would be plagued by President Joe Biden‘s struggling poll numbers.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different—they’re statewide. Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” McConnell told reporters Friday.
Many of the candidates who have struggled in recent polls—including Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, J.D. Vance in Ohio, and Blake Masters in Arizona—all received Trump’s endorsement, while the GOP’s more traditional wing backed opposing candidates, often setting up proxy battles between Trump and McConnell, whose relationship soured in recent years.
McConnell’s comments were met with criticism from Morris, a conservative commentator who once served as an adviser to former President Bill Clinton before becoming a Republican in 1996.
“Right now, Mitch McConnell is running around badmouthing our chances of winning in the Senate; saying that it’s very close, we’ll win the House but who knows about the Senate. And what he’s doing is he’s saying that the Trump candidates who won the primaries, often against the ones he endorsed, are going to be too weak to win in November because they’ll be too polarizing,” Morris said during an appearance on the radio show Cats Roundtable.
Morris accused McConnell of doing so to “dry up money to the people who Trump’s endorsed,” so that his choice of candidates would prevail in future primaries.
Other conservatives have also criticized McConnell for casting doubt on his party’s odds of retaking a majority in the Senate. Fox News host Sean Hannity called for him to be replaced as the Senate’s top Republican.
“Democrats are painting Republican Senate candidates running in upcoming elections and midterms as cruel and out of touch,” Hannity said on Friday. “Well, apparently Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is content to leave them out to dry and fend for themselves.”
Democrats Hold Lead in These Key Races
Despite facing backlash from conservatives, polls show McConnell’s concerns have merit. Democrats have taken a lead in several key races in recent weeks.
In Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman currently holds an 11 point lead over Oz, who has faced accusations of being out of touch with voters as well as skepticism from some Trump-aligned Republicans, according to an aggregation of polls from FiveThirtyEight.
Democrats have also encroached on more traditional Republican-leading states. Representative Tim Ryan holds a single point lead over Vance in Ohio—and in North Carolina, former state Chief Justice Cheri Beasley is tied with Representative Ted Budd.
Meanwhile, Democrats are favored to hold every seat they currently hold, having slight leads in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada.
Newsweek reached out to McConnell’s office for comment.
