Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blamed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for GOP nominees underperforming in the midterms, according to The Hill.
Speaking to reporters a week after Georgia's GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker lost in the state's runoff election, McConnell said the GOP was hampered by "candidate quality."
"I never said there was a red wave," McConnell told journalists. "I said we had a bunch of close races. We ended up having a candidate quality [issue]. Look at Arizona, look at New Hampshire and a challenging situation in Georgia as well."
McConnell then added that his affiliated super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, intervened in two primaries in Alabama and Missouri but could do little for Trump-endorsed MAGA candidates claiming the 2020 election was stolen.
During the primaries leading up to the midterms, the Senate Leadership Fund spent over $4 million opposing Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks in his state's Senate GOP primary. The fund also invested at least $6 million in the super PAC Show Me Values to stop Eric Greitens from winning Missouri's Senate GOP nomination.
"Our ability to control primary outcomes was quite limited in '22 because the support of the former president proved to be very decisive in these primaries, so my view was do the best with the cards you're dealt," he added. "Hopefully in the next cycle, we'll have quality candidates everywhere and a better outcome."
In the weeks leading up to the 2022 midterm election, Trump in October decried McConnell for supporting the reelection campaign of Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski by shifting funds away from Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters.
Around the same time, in late Sept., Murkowski held a 41% lead in the polls, according to Alaska Survey Research. Following behind her was another Republican candidate, the Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, who trailed with 39% of voters' support. Both Republican candidates led in the polls; their closest competition was Democrat Pat Chesbro, who only had 16% of voter support.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.