As DNC Vice Chair David Hogg seeks to spend millions on primarying older Democrats in blue districts, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm suggested they are taking the exact opposite tact ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“With Democrats like Jon Ossoff openly calling to impeach President Trump, no one should put their personal ambitions above protecting the president’s legacy and majorities,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“Leader [John] Thune and Chairman [Tim] Scott have been clear that the NRSC’s goal is to protect President Trump’s majority in the Senate, and they know Mike Rogers and John Cornyn are the best candidates to do that in their respective races.”
The issue arose as both men – a former Michigan congressman seeking Sen. Gary Peters’ to-be-open seat and an incumbent Texas senator, respectively – may see substantive primary challenges.
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An NRSC official reportedly told donors on a Tuesday conference call that people seeking to aid Senate races in both states should only give to Rogers and Cornyn, according to Axios.
When reached, an NRSC official did not wave Fox News Digital off that report.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is considering a run for Peters’ seat, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is doing the same in the Lone Star State, according to several reports.
NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers said, according to Axios, that no other candidates but Rogers and Cornyn – “declared or posturing” – should be supported by substantive donors, unless and until they decide to hold onto their seats in a narrowly Republican-majority House of Representatives.
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A Huizenga spokesperson told Fox News Digital it is important to “remember that Michigan voters have the ultimate say.”
“We continue to hear from grassroots activists, Republican primary voters and donors both here in Michigan and around the country who are looking for an alternative. Sadly, it seems that Washington insiders prefer predictable candidates, regardless of success.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment from Hogg regarding Republicans shaping their campaign strategy in direct contrast to his own.
“Republicans are clearly so afraid of losing seats in the House with their extremely unpopular agenda that party leaders are urging House members not to run for higher office,” a DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Republicans should be afraid of losing elections as they push a budget bill that will cut vital programs for hardworking Americans to pay for another billionaire tax handout — all as the country braces for a Trump recession.”
Hogg’s strategy incensed party elders, including Bill Clinton confidant James Carville, who recently remarked, “Does he really think the problem that we‘re facing in the United States today is because we got 65-year-old Democrats in office? Why don’t you take on a Republican? That‘s your job.”
However, Carville has since softened his stance, appearing to compare Hogg to Ulysses S. Grant by referencing a popular anecdote in which President Abraham Lincoln purportedly defended Grant against calls for his dismissal after the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, reportedly saying, “I can’t spare this man; he fights.”
Hunt’s office could not be reached for comment for the purposes of this story.
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