Call it Sen. Tim Scott’s 55-seat strategy.
Scott, the conservative senator from South Carolina, told Fox News Digital soon after taking over late last year as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) he aimed to expand the GOP’s current 53-47 majority in the Senate.
And Scott, in a Fox News Digital interview this week on Capitol Hill, is standing by his goal.
‘One hundred percent. It’s my stretch goal,’ the senator reiterated. ‘The bottom line is, I believe that we can defend our current seats while adding at least two more seats to our numbers.’
Scott, who last month became the longest-serving Black senator in the nation’s history, launched a campaign two years ago for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination before dropping out and endorsing Donald Trump.
The senator, who was a top Trump surrogate on the campaign trail last year, emphasized that ‘the good news is, with President Donald Trump leading this country, the field is wide open, which means that we have more places to play, and the game is on.’
Scott added the NRSC needs ‘to focus on the mechanics of making sure that the Donald J. Trump brand is reflected in our candidates.’
Senate Republicans enjoyed a favorable map in the 2024 cycle as they flipped four seats from blue to red to win back control of the chamber.
But the party in power — clearly the Republicans right now — traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections. Nevertheless, an early read of the 2026 map indicates the GOP may be able to go on offense in some key states.
Republicans will be targeting battleground Michigan, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters recently announced he won’t seek re-election next year, as well as Georgia, another key battleground state, where first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is considered vulnerable.
And in swing state New Hampshire, longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has yet to say whether she’ll seek another term in the Senate when she’s up for re-election next year.
Days before Scott was interviewed by Fox News Digital, Democratic Sen. Tina Smith in blue-leaning Minnesota announced she wouldn’t run again in 2026.
‘Minnesota is an open seat. That’s a four-point state,’ Scott said as he pointed to Trump’s better-than-expected performance in the state in November’s presidential election.
‘We can actually make gains there and bring home another red seat in Minnesota for the first time in a long time,’ Scott predicted.
Asked about GOP recruitment efforts in Minnesota, Scott responded, ‘I’m pleasantly surprised. We’ve already talked to two very highly qualified candidates and more to come.’
Pointing to the current political landscape across the country, Scott touted that ‘we have a map that is wide open. All we need is time. Time is on our side right now. So, we’re excited about what’s going to happen over the next several weeks.’
But Republicans are also playing defense in the 2026 cycle.
Democrats plan to go on offense in blue-leaning Maine, where GOP Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, as well as in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also up in 2026.
Scott acknowledges that the GOP will have to spend big bucks to defend those two seats, as well as in Ohio, where Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was appointed last month to succeed Vice President JD Vance in the Senate. Husted will run next year to finish out Vance’s term.
Pointing to a likely price tag of well over $1 billion in those three races, Scott acknowledged that ‘we need to continue to have strong fundraising numbers and support our candidates as we defend our seats.’
The NRSC recently announced a record $8.5 million in fundraising in January, which the committee says is its best ever off-year January haul.
Asked if the NRSC could keep up the pace, Scott said, ‘Absolutely we can. The good news is we’re already on pace for February to have another record-breaking month.’
And pointing to the president, Scott argued that ‘Trump brings a lot of enthusiasm. He made promises on the campaign trail, and now, as president, he’s keeping those promises. What does that convert to? Cash is king. People love a man who says what he’s going to do, he gets a job, he goes to work doing those things. It makes our job infinitely easier at the NRSC.’
In the 2022 election cycle, when the Republicans blew a chance to win back the majority, NRSC Chair Rick Scott of Florida was criticized for a hands-off approach in the GOP Senate primaries.
Last cycle, NRSC Chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana got involved in Senate Republican nomination battles.
Asked what he’ll do when it comes to contested GOP Senate primaries this cycle, Scott answered, ‘Whatever is in the best interest of the voters in each state, I will make a state-by-state decision on how we play and where we play.’
