PanamaTimes

Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

Mitch McConnell says Trump's 2022 endorsements limited the GOP's 'ability to control a primary outcome' which led to 'candidate quality' issues

Mitch McConnell says Trump's 2022 endorsements limited the GOP's 'ability to control a primary outcome' which led to 'candidate quality' issues

McConnell said his approach in 2022 was to "do the best you can with the cards you're dealt," which often meant going along with Trump's picks.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for the Republican Party's poor showing in Senate elections this year, saying that the influence of Trump's endorsements limited the ability of the party to choose better nominees.

"Our ability to control a primary outcome was quite limited in because the support of the former president proved to be very decisive in these primaries," he told reporters at his weekly press conference at the Capitol. "So my view was: do the best you can with the cards you're dealt."

"Hopefully in the next cycle, we'll have quality candidates everywhere and a better outcome," he added.

McConnell's comments suggest that he and other top Republicans essentially had to work with the candidates who Trump chose, rather than attempt to wage a proxy war against the former president.

The Kentucky Republican noted on Tuesday that he had intervened in Senate races in both Missouri and Alabama. In Missouri, Trump essentially declined to endorse a particular candidate, while he switched his support to McConnell-backed Katie Britt in Alabama after a falling out with his original endorsed candidate, Rep. Mo Brooks.


McConnell also reiterated previous comments he's made about the party's roster of Senate candidates, including that he "never said there was a red wave." 

But it's the first time he's publicly tied Trump to the issue of "candidate quality," which McConnell first raised during comments at an event in Kentucky in August.

He again referenced the candidacies of Blake Masters in Arizona and Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, two candidates who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election and won their primaries with Trump's support, only to easily lose to their Democratic opponents in November.

And he referenced Herschel Walker, another scandal-plagued candidate pushed by Trump who was defeated by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia during a runoff election last week.

"Look at Arizona, look at New Hampshire, and a challenging situation in Georgia as well," he said on Tuesday.

"I do think we had an opportunity to relearn, one more time: you have to have quality candidates to win competitive Senate races," he added.

In 2022, not only did every incumbent Democratic senator win re-election — the first time that's happened with a Democrat in the White House since 1934 — but they also expanded their majority in the Senate to 51 votes.

Spokespeople for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
×