Rick Scott Wants More Donations to Senate GOP After Calls for Audit

Florida Senator Rick Scott is defending the caliber of Republican candidates ahead of the midterms as reports indicate that ad money may be drying up with over two months to go.

Scott, a first-term senator and the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has been questioned by anonymous Republican colleagues due to reported financial challenges the committee is experiencing. The NRSC's financial war chest is reportedly dwindling down and leading to calls for an audit as Republican Senate candidates battle in key swing states, according to The Washington Post.

"I would like everybody that has money in this country to step up: Whether you want to give it to a campaign or whether you want to give it to the NRSC or they want to give it to Super PACs," Scott told Politico in an interview on Wednesday.

The Washington Post reported that the NRSC raised $173 million this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosures, but by the end of June, the committee had less than $29 million on hand.

Scott has been ridiculed for calling out President Joe Biden's vacation in Delaware when he spent time on a luxury yacht in Italy.

He took over the chairmanship after the GOP lost both Senate races in Georgia in January 2021. Politico reported that criticism has resulted from the NRSC spending a lot of money, some $40 million, early in the midterm campaign cycle and canceling some ad buys more recently.

Scott has also disagreed with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's assessment that "candidate quality" gives the GOP better odds to control the House than the Senate in November, telling Politico that he and McConnell have a "strategic disagreement" and that both want the same thing: to take over the Senate majority.

"If you trash talk our candidates...you hurt our chances of winning, and you hurt our candidates' ability to raise money," Scott told Politico. "I know they're good candidates, because I've been talking to them and they're working their butts off."

In a Washington Examiner op-ed published Thursday, Scott went a step further and called out those who complain and lament "bad candidates," saying voters should be trusted over Washington "smart guys."

"Unfortunately, many of the very people responsible for losing the Senate last cycle are now trying to stop us from winning the majority this time by trash-talking our Republican candidates," Scott wrote. "It's an amazing act of cowardice, and ultimately, it's treasonous to the conservative cause."

NRSC Communications Director Chris Hartline told Newsweek that he would let Scott's comments "speak for themselves," adding that reports about audits "are not based on anything real."

"There is no audit. That's not a real thing," Hartline said. "The NRSC has spent tens of millions of dollars supporting our candidates and defining the Democrats and we will continue to do so. We're very confident that we'll win back the Senate Majority in November."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has celebrated what it calls "record-breaking fundraising" that "continues to be powered by strong, energized grassroots supporters who recognize the stakes of this election—and are committed to protecting and expanding our Democratic Senate Majority that is fighting to address working families' most pressing priorities."

A spokesperson for Scott referred Newsweek to the NRSC for comment.