Rick Scott on the Trump family’s influence on the Republican primary as 2022 approaches

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DALLAS — Senator Rick Scott this weekend avoided directly addressing the efforts of former President Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. to bolster key rivals of incumbent Republican senators who they see as insufficiently loyal to the former president, saying he plans to support incumbents but won’t play in the primaries.

Scott, R-Fla., in an interview with Fox News at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, also reviewed how Senate Republicans will deal with critical race theory in their elections against Democrats in 2022.

As Chairman of the Republican Senate National Committee (NRSC), Scott is responsible for trying to restore the Senate majority to the Republican Party as he faces a less than perfect electoral map in the midterm elections. The Republicans play the defense in 20 seats compared to 14 for the Democrats.

Trump Jr has previously indicated that he plans to go after anti-Trump Republicans in the primaries. He made it clear at the CPAC, telling Fox News on Saturday that he would “much enjoy” his campaign against the “helpful idiots of the left” — that is, the Republicans who voted to impeach the former president.

Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, speaks to Fox News at CPAC Dallas. Scott said that a “strong” primaries could be beneficial to the party, and that he would not endorse any candidate in the contested primaries in the Republican Senate. (Tyler Olson/Fox News)

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Trump Jr. added: “Someone has to call that out.”

Asked whether such comments and cross-party battles were fruitful, Scott did not directly address what Trump Jr said and reiterated his previous position that he supports incumbents but would not support the contested primaries. But he said he believed “strong” challenges within the party could be beneficial to the party.

“As Chairman of the Republican Senate National Committee, I will not endorse the primaries, I will help incumbent senators win their elections, which I believe they will all do,” Scott said. “But what I want to do is we’re going to have a solid primaries, and we’re going to get the best candidate that voters in that state want, and what’s going to happen is we’re going to get a fantastic 22.”

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The former president has already approved one of the Senate’s challengers to the incumbent Republican – Kelly Chebaka, who is running against Senator Lisa Murkowski, the Alaskan Republican.

“Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska,” Trump said in a statement last month. “Her vote to confirm Biden’s Secretary of the Interior was a vote to kill the jobs of the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and she has long accepted it.” “Kelly Chebaka is the candidate who can defeat Murkowski – and she will. Kelly is a fighter who stands up for Alaska and America First values.”

Donald Trump Jr. speaking to Fox News Digital at CPAC Dallas. Trump Jr. said he would “have a lot of fun” promoting key rivals to the incumbent Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

It seems almost certain that Trump will support more of these rivals in the coming months.

Scott also said Republicans will assert that “America is not a racist country” during the 2022 election, as critical race theory in schools has become a hot topic from local school boards to governors’ mansions.

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“We respect and admire our founders,” Scott added. “We’re going to make sure we let everyone know this is a great country, we’re not going to be defensive about our past, we’re going to say we’re constantly improving.”

Despite the Senate’s difficult map, many believe that reclaiming the Senate is a reasonable goal for Republicans, especially given the House’s slim margins and the fact that the middle of the first term after a president takes office is usually difficult for the ruling party.

Scott predicted at the CPAC that Republicans would overturn four Democratic seats in the Senate. Republicans are likely to play the seats held by Senator Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, and Raphael Warnock, D-J. , Michael Bennett, de Colo, and Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Neff. Moderate states with Democrats for re-election in 2022. Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, could be at risk if Republicans have a strong year.

With a 50-50 margin in the House, Republicans can regain a majority if they only get one seat in the Senate.

Fox Nation was a sponsor of CPAC 2021: America Uncanceled.

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