BLAME GAME

McConnell Joins Chorus Blaming Trump For GOP’s Low Quality Midterm Candidates

McConnell said Trump choosing to endorse the Republicans' weak, extreme candidates in key states like Arizona, New Hampshire and Georgia played a role in GOP midterm losses.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has hopped on the Republican bandwagon to blame ex-President Donald Trump for “candidate quality” issues in this year’s midterms. McConnell said to several reporters on Tuesday — about a week after controversial GOP candidate Herschel Walker lost to Sen. Raphael Warnock, giving Democrats an extra leg up in the chamber – that Republicans fielded inferior candidates in key states like Arizona, New Hampshire and Georgia, The Hill reported. He added that Trump’s choice to back GOP candidates who touted 2020 election fraud claims made it hard for any other conservative senators to intervene in some cases. “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 said. “Hopefully in the next cycle, we’ll have quality candidates everywhere and a better outcome.”