Tim Scott says GOP can expand Senate majority in midterm elections

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Sen. Tim Scott says he remains “incredibly optimistic” that the GOP can not only maintain its current 53-47 majority, but expand it in the fall of 2026. Midterm elections.

But as Republicans face severe political headwinds, with the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally losing seats in midterm elections, and as the GOP faces a harsh political climate fueled by economic fears amid persistent inflation and the president’s politics, Donald TrumpUnderwater approval ratings, Scott doesn’t sugarcoat things.

“There’s no question that the climate is becoming more difficult by the day, as it sometimes appears to be,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at an annual economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically powerful conservative political group.

Scott in early February gave his fellow GOP senators some straight talk about the party’s chances in the midterms, when he briefed his colleagues in a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the chamber.

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National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Sen. Tim Scott says he remains “incredibly optimistic” that the GOP can not only retain its majority, but expand it. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Narsk The president told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, “obviously 54 is within our reach now, but with any luck, 55 is on our side.”

Asked again in his interview with Fox News Digital on Saturday, Scott said: “I think we have potential for more than 53 seats.”

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“The good news is that we have a president who made promises, kept those promises, and we were able to recruit the best candidates anyone could want in every battleground state,” Scott said.

Republicans face severe political headwinds, with the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally losing seats in midterm elections. (Cornell Watson/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Highlighting the seats the GOP is seeking to flip, Scott pointed to Georgia, where Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking reelection in 2026. He also highlighted open seats held by Democrats in Michigan, a swing state, swing state New Hampshire, and blue-leaning Minnesota.

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Scott said he was “incredibly optimistic, not only about retaining the majority, but also expanding the majority across Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and even Minnesota. We have a strong candidate.”

The candidate he was referring to in Minnesota is former NBC Sports reporter turned conservative activist and commentator Michel Tafoya.

Fox News Digital interviewed Michelle Tafoya as she launched her Republican Senate campaign in Minnesota. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

But Democrats are targeting Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election in the blue-leaning northern state of New England, and battleground North Carolina, where Republicans are defending an open seat in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

Democrats are also trying to flip GOP-controlled Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa, all red states.

“Voters are sick and tired of Trump and Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda that raises prices and threatens their health care,” the challenger said. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) was confirmed in a social media post. “Voters across the country are ready to send Senate Republicans into retirement next November.”

Paxton says he will stay in the race even if Trump backs Cornyn

And in Texas, the NRSC is backing long-serving Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who now faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA mogul, in a costly and combustible primary runoff.

Trump said in early March, following a primary in which no candidate received more than 50% of the votes to win the nomination, in a crowded Republican field, that he would offer his endorsement soon.

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, left, President Donald Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images;)

NRSC and Senate Majority Leader John ThuneRD, who also supports Cornyn, worries that a Paxton win could give Democrats a path to flip the seat red, thanks to the state attorney general’s political baggage, including a slew of past scandals and a current messy divorce.

“The only thing we know about John Cornyn is that he’s going to win Texas,” Scott said. “If you want to have the clearest path to victory, John Cornyn is your man.” “President Trump is the only person who can make this a reality immediately with this runoff.”

Scott said “we hope and pray” that Trump will endorse Cornyn. But he added: “The president is going to do what the president is going to do. I’m not going to pretend to influence his final decision, but I will say I’m certainly praying that John Cornyn will be our nominee.”

Trump says the rise in gas prices is temporary

Oil prices Gasoline prices have risen in the week and a half since the United States and Israel attacked Iran, immediately sending gasoline costs across America. This is a major concern for Republicans in a midterm election cycle where the economy, specifically affordability, is a top concern for voters.

Gas prices in Newfields, New Hampshire, on March 9, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“I think the economy will continue to improve month after month,” Scott predicted optimistically. “I think the rest of this year we’ll see good information and good facts about why the American people should focus on the Republican Party and keep us in the majority.”

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With the annual tax filing deadline just over a month away, Scott touted the numerous tax cuts that will begin this year in the GOP’s sweeping “big, beautiful bill,” which Trump signed into law in the summer of 2025.

Scott touted, “A larger tax return for millions of Americans is great news. The more money they see in their pockets, and the more they attribute to the Republican Party, the better we will do this election season.”