Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during an interview with Politico said there was a “realistic assessment” that the Senate landscape was in play during the upcoming midterm elections and poked fun at his campaign account's Narcos-inspired tweet aimed at Don Blankenship following the ex-convict's loss in the West Virginia primary.
“It’s very much in play. If you look at history, it’s pretty clear that two years into any new administration is dicey territory for the party of the president. I don’t think this year will be any different. The wind is going to be in our face,” McConnell said. “We have three vulnerabilities: Arizona, Nevada and Tennessee.”
He said he feels confident, though, about the GOP’s chances of defeating Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in West Virginia, and that Republicans would "be fine" in Mississippi. Arizona, he said, "is obviously a very competitive general election ... but it’s pretty obvious which of our candidates have a best chance of winning" - McConnell wants Rep. Martha McSally to beat Joe Arpaio and Kelli Ward.
McConnell thinks Republicans also have a good shot at beating Democratic incumbents in Montana, North Dakota, Missouri, Indiana and Florida.
Several conservative outsiders challenging establishment-backed candidates think McConnell is sticking his nose where it shouldn't belong, according to CNN, but the senator from Kentucky keeps chugging along.
Take the $1.3 million the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund poured into stopping Blankenship from winning the Republican Senate primary earlier this month to challenge incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin.
Blankenship at one point called McConnell “Cocaine Mitch” in a campaign ad referring to allegations that a ship owned by the company of McConnell’s father-in-law was used to carry 90 pounds of cocaine.
McConnell seemed to be amused by the jab, and after Blankenship finished third in the race, the senator's campaign account tweeted a photo of the senator surrounded by white powder with the comment, “Thanks for playing, Don."
The image was inspired by the Netflix hit show "Narcos," which is about Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
“I enjoyed it, actually,” McConnell joked with Politico of the tweet. “It sorta softened my image, don’t you think?”
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