Former Virginia GOP Rep. Scott Taylor announced Monday his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, saying there is a "hunger for leadership change" after Democratic Sen. Mark Warner's 12 years in office.
"We have a leadership crisis in Virginia, and we think Washington is broken and we need a fresh start in the Senate," Taylor told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" when making his announcement. "Twelve years is enough."
Scott, who narrowly lost his bid for reelection to the House to Democrat Elaine Luria following accusations that his campaign staff attempted to split the opposition against him by helping an independent candidate gain ballot access, touted himself Monday as a representative who actively worked to "bring people together and get things done."
He acknowledged that there is no question that the Virginia Senate race is a tight one and that Republicans are underdogs.
"We the people have been taking left hooks for years and years and years, and we might hit the canvas," said Taylor. "We will need help from everybody. We need help from everybody across the United States. It affects you."
Taylor also commented on the back and forth going on between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, calling the four freshman lawmakers' arguments about voting against humanitarian aid for migrants "quite hypocritical."
"They're preaching about how wrong it is, yet their actions are contributing to it," said Taylor. "Their lack of action quite frankly is contributing to more dangerous crossings, more deaths on the border, and more of a humanitarian crisis"