FIRST ON FOX: Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s surprise announcement on Friday night that she is dropping out of the race for New York governor and leaving her seat in Congress was partly due to lack of full support from President Trump, Fox News Digital has learned.
"The biggest piece of this puzzle was Donald Trump and the fact that he passed three times on endorsing her candidacy, including in the Oval Office with the Miracle on Ice Team last week," a GOP source close to the situation told Fox News Digital. "I think [that] played the largest role in this decision,"
Stefanik’s original thought process when she jumped into the race last month, according to the source, was that she would have a "clear shot" at current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. But once Trump ally and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced his candidacy earlier this month, "it became clear that was not going to happen."
"When you start to add these things up, and you see a contested primary, you see an assumed ally in the president who passes on endorsing, and it does not seem that you're going to have the wind to your back in this cycle, I think [it] all played into this," the source said.
STEFANIK EXITS NY GOVERNOR RACE, WILL NOT RUN FOR RE-ELECTION TO US HOUSE
Stefanik’s decision to also leave Congress was based on a feeling that it was time to "move on," the source said.
"I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York," Stefanik posted on X Friday afternoon.
"However, as we have seen in past elections, while we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York."
Stefanik has been a staunch ally of President Trump during her time in Congress, including defending him during both of his impeachments. Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a high-profile cabinet-level position, before the nomination was pulled to protect the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House and amid worries Republicans could lose Stefanik’s seat to the Democrats in a special election.
FBI TO BE UNDER HARSH NEW MICROSCOPE AS STEFANIK SCORES VICTORY IN ANNUAL DEFENSE BILL
After Blakeman joined the race for governor, Trump opted to stay neutral, telling reporters at the White House after Blakeman announced his candidacy that "Elise is fantastic and Bruce is."
"Two fantastic people, and I always hate it when two very good friends of mine are running, and I hope there’s not a lot of damage done," the president added.
Hochul’s re-election campaign released a statement on Friday shifting its attention to Blakeman.
"Elise Stefanik has finally acknowledged reality: If you run against Governor Kathy Hochul, you are going to lose," Hochul’s campaign said in a press release Friday. "As Donald Trump raises costs on New Yorkers and targets this state relentlessly, Governor Hochul has cut middle-class taxes, put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets, and fought this administration and won when New York has come under attack."
"The fact is, ‘100% MAGA’ Bruce Blakeman traveled all the way to D.C. to celebrate Trump’s tariffs, he ran Long Island’s safety net hospital into the ground by appointing corrupt cronies to run it, and let violent crime in Nassau County spike to its highest level in a decade. Governor Hochul’s message to him or whichever lackey Trump picks to run against her is simple: Bring it on."
The source confirmed to Fox News Digital that "multiple county leaders are reaching out to Congressman Mike Lawler" as a potential candidate, adding it is "premature" to assume the New York GOP is "coalescing around Blakeman."
"Very fluid. Many folks are taking time to regroup."
The source did say that Blakeman "can be a strong candidate" and that the "Mamdani effect" is something Hochul will still have to combat in a general election.
"I wish Congresswoman Stefanik nothing but success as she pursues her priorities and continues her service to our nation," Blakeman posted on X Friday. "At this pivotal moment for New York, it is essential that Republicans and all New Yorkers come together in unity."
Lawler responded to the news in a post on X saying that Stefanik "has been a terrific Congresswoman" and "would have been a great governor."
"As her friend and colleague, I respect her decision and wish her and her family all the best as she moves forward."
The White House directed Fox News Digital to the social media reactions from the president and his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump responded to Stefanik’s announcement, writing, "Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor. Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!"
Leavitt also posted praise of Stefanik on social media.
"Elise Stefanik has been an incredible advocate for the people of her district in Upstate New York, and she will always be a true friend to President Trump," Leavitt posted on X. "On a personal note, Elise is my former boss. She is a great leader, and an even better person. We love you, @EliseStefanik!"
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report
As he aims to not only defend but expand the GOP's 53-47 Senate majority in next year's midterm elections, Sen. Tim Scott has a message for MAGA voters who don't always go to the polls when President Donald Trump's name isn't on the ballot.
"Donald Trump is on the ballot, and that's why he's been so active around the country," Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said this week in a Fox News Digital interview.
Scott, a Republican from South Carolina and Trump ally, said, "I look forward to seeing the president on the campaign trail across this country."
WHATLEY: ‘THE PRESIDENT AND HIS LEGACY’ ON 2026 BALLOT
And the president appears to be delivering.
Trump on Friday night held the second leg of his affordability tour during a stop in battleground North Carolina, home to what is shaping up to be one of the most crucial, combustible, and expensive Senate battles next year.
"We're certainly going to need him to be on the ballot," former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley told Fox News Digital, as he pointed to Trump.
THE GOP'S TAKE ON HIGH-PROFILE SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES: 'THEY'RE IN SHAMBLES'
Whatley, the Trump-backed clear frontrunner for the GOP Senate nomination in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, joined Trump at Friday night's event.
"When you think about what happens if we lose the House, if we lose the Senate, if the Democrats take over, and they go right back to investigations and hoaxes and impeachments, that is really, truly the president and his legacy are going to be on the ballot," Whatley emphasized.
Trump and Republicans spotlighted rising prices as they swept to major victories in 2024, retaking the White House and Senate and holding their majority in the House.
But with inflation remaining persistent, Democrats have been laser focused this year on the issue of affordability, which fueled their decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections and their overperformances this year in a slew of special elections.
But Scott predicts the tide will turn.
"I've said 2026 is a year of affordability, and the great news is President Trump has been producing time and time again," he touted.
Pointing to the tax cut provisions in the GOP's sweeping domestic policy measure signed into law this past summer by Trump, Scott said "2026 is shaping up to be the year where Donald Trump's activities, his actions, the legislation we've passed, shows up for the American voter. And consumers all across the country will see a more affordable economy because of President Trump and the Senate majority and the House majority in the hands of the Republican Party."
GOP SENATE CAMPAIGN CHIEF AIMS TO EXPAND 2026 MAP IN THIS BLUE-LEANING STATE
Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital that "even Tim Scott is occasionally right — 2026 will be the year of affordability."
But taking aim at the GOP narrative, French argued that affordability will continue to grab top billing with voters "because Americans can't afford Donald Trump and Republican policies that continue to drive up the cost of groceries, basic goods, and, right now, Christmas presents."
"The out-of-touch insistence from the GOP that the economy is thriving proves they don't understand what working families are facing, which is probably why Democrats won or dramatically overperformed in every contested election this year," she emphasized. "2026 will be no different as Democrats continue to put forward real plans to address the cost-of-living crisis."
There are 35 Senate seats up for grabs next year, including special elections for GOP-held seats in Florida and Ohio. Overall, Republicans are defending 22 of the seats.
But the map of competitive races is much smaller.
Scott reiterated that open Democrat-held seats in battleground Michigan and swing state New Hampshire are two of the NRSC's top targets, along with Sen. Jon Ossoff in battleground Georgia, whom Republicans consider the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election next year.
4 KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN 2026 MIDTERMS TO EXPAND THEIR MAJORITY
The NRSC chair is also eyeing blue-leaning Minnesota, where the Senate GOP campaign arm is working to recruit former professional football sideline reporter turned political activist and commentator Michele Tafoya, who is inching closer to jumping into the race.
"We're excited about expanding our map, and Minnesota is one of the target states that we're looking at," Scott said. "We see real reasons to be optimistic. President Trump was very close in Minnesota. It's a four-point race. We know with the right candidate, we will be successful."
Apparently pointing to Tafoya, Scott suggested Republicans are likely to land "a strong candidate in the race," and teased "wait and see" for "better news."
Scott will likely be playing defense in Texas, where there's currently a nasty-three way GOP Senate primary, as well as in North Carolina, Maine, and Ohio.
Asked his prediction for next year, Scott said "54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Friday announced that she is ending her bid for governor and will not seek reelection, just over a month after launching her campaign.
In a message posted to X, Stefanik cited her family as her reason for stepping out of the race to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
"While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek reelection to Congress. I did not come to this decision lightly for our family," she wrote on X.
"And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom," she added. "I believe that being a parent is life's greatest gift and greatest responsibility. I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don't further focus on my young son's safety, growth, and happiness - particularly at his tender age."
KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR'S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY
In her message, Stefanik thanked her supporters for their donations but said it wouldn't be an "effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York."
"Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!"
Stefanik launched her gubernatorial campaign in November with a platform centered on crime, taxes and affordability across the Empire State.
Stefanik, who represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York, has often criticized Democratic leaders within her state.
The now-41-year-old Stefanik, a Harvard graduate who worked as a staffer in then-President George W. Bush’s administration and later as an aide on the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan 2012 GOP presidential ticket, made history in 2014 as the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House.
A one-time moderate Republican, Stefanik transformed herself into a MAGA champion during Trump’s first term in the White House, rising through the ranks of GOP leadership in the chamber. Her loyalty to Trump, including defending him during the first of his two impeachments, appeared to pay off after he won back the presidency in the 2024 election. Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a high-profile cabinet-level position.
But Trump, concerned about the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber, in March rescinded the nomination, worrying that Republicans could lose Stefanik’s seat to the Democrats in a special election.
While Stefanik remained in the House, and GOP leaders created a new leadership position for her, she soon eyed running for New York governor in 2026, with Trump’s encouragement.
Another potential GOP Republican gubernatorial contender, Rep. Mike Lawler, announced during the summer that he would seek reelection in the House rather than bid for governor.
But Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, another Trump ally, last week jumped into the GOP race after mulling a bid for months.
Trump stayed neutral, telling reporters at the White House after Blakeman announced his candidacy that "Elise is fantastic and Bruce is."
"Two fantastic people, and I always hate it when two very good friends of mine are running, and I hope there’s not a lot of damage done," the president added.
Even though Stefanik was the clear polling and fundraising frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, those in her political orbit told Fox News Digital Stefanik was concerned that a primary battle would make her uphill climb against Hochul in blue-leaning New York ever steeper.
As she eyed a run for governor, Stefanik argued in a Fox News Digital interview in June that Hochul was "the worst governor in America." It’s a line she would repeatedly use in the ensuing months.
And Stefanik, aiming to paint the governor as an extremist, regularly tied Hochul to now-Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of New York City, a socialist and the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s most populous city.
But Trump seemingly undercut Stefanik’s messaging that Mamdani was a "jihadist" after a cordial embrace of the mayor-elect during an Oval Office meeting after his New York City victory.
President Donald Trump heads to battleground North Carolina on Friday as he aims to keep an open Senate seat, previously held by a Republican, in GOP hands in next year's midterm elections.
Trump will hold an evening event on affordability as he teams up in the crucial southeastern state with Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair and clear frontrunner for the GOP Senate nomination in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Whatley is likely to face off next year against former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in what's expected to be one of the most expensive and crucial Senate battles in the country, as the GOP works to hold its 53-47 majority in the chamber. And rising prices will be a top issue on the campaign trail.
"President Trump won North Carolina all three times. 2016, 2020, and 2024... because he connects directly with the people of North Carolina, talking about the issues that they care about. So it is very important to have him on the ground," Whatley emphasized this week in a Fox News Digital interview.
TRUMP-BACKED RNC CHAIR JUMPS INTO ‘MARQUEE’ SENATE BATTLE
Low propensity MAGA voters and other Trump supporters don't always head to the polls in elections when the president's not on the ballot, which is a major concern for Republicans heading into next year's midterms.
That's why Whatley, a former state GOP chair whom Trump handpicked in 2024 to run the RNC and urged this summer to run for the Senate, would love to see the president return to North Carolina numerous times next year.
GOP SENATE CAMPAIGN CHIEF AIMS TO EXPAND 2026 MAP IN THIS BLUE-LEANING STATE
"He is fantastically popular in North Carolina," Whatley said of Trump. "He has a real affinity for the state. The voters...love him, and it'll be very, very good to get him back in North Carolina."
But more importantly, Whatley and other Republicans are aiming to frame the 2026 elections as a referendum on Trump and his agenda.
"We're certainly going to need him to be on the ballot," Whatley emphasized. "When you think about what happens if we lose the House, if we lose the Senate, if the Democrats take over, and they go right back to investigations and hoaxes and impeachments, that is really, truly the president and his legacy are going to be on the ballot."
With inflation remaining persistent this year, Democrats have stayed laser focused on the issue of affordability, which fueled them to decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections and over performances in a slew of special elections this year.
THE GOP'S TAKE ON HIGH-PROFILE SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES: 'THEY'RE IN SHAMBLES'
The same issue that boosted Trump and Republicans to sweeping ballot box victories in 2024 is now dragging the president's approval ratings on the economy to record lows.
Whatley argued that the president "is fighting right now to bring down gasoline prices... We're fighting, you know, every day against the Fed, trying to get them to lower interest rates and make housing more affordable. And you know, there's, there's a fight every day with this administration to try and bring down the prices for everybody."
And looking ahead to next year, Whatley said, "We're seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President's policies are getting in place. We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina."
But Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin sees Trump and Republicans headed for a ballot box disaster.
"Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms," Martin said in a statement ahead of Trump's stop in North Carolina.
Whatley has been busy crisscrossing North Carolina and highlighted that "we're talking to every single community. We will be in all 100 counties across North Carolina, and we're fighting for every single family."
And he plans to hold tight to Trump.
"Our voters know Donald Trump, and they know me. I've worked on his campaigns since 2016. President Trump won North Carolina in all three election cycles. So we know how to win, and we have the policies that are going to win," Whatley emphasized.
And pointing to Cooper, who won election and re-election four times as attorney general before becoming governor, Whatley charged that "Roy Cooper is on the wrong side of every 80-20 issue. He has fought harder for criminals, for illegal aliens, men who want to, you know, play in women's sports and be in women's locker rooms. Those are issue sets that he's going to have to defend."
But Cooper's campaign countered, saying in a statement to Fox News Digital that the former governor "has spent his career fighting for North Carolina families by lowering health care costs and keeping their communities safe while Michael Whatley spent decades at the beck and call of DC politicians delivering for billionaires and special interests at the expense of the middle class."
Moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives pushed back against far-left portions of their base, rejecting claims that party leaders in the House should be replaced for failing to effectively oppose President Donald Trump.
Challenges to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., have been more theater than substance, moderates told Fox News Digital.
"They want to see loud screaming, and they want to see protests," Rep. George Latimer, D-N.Y., said of the challengers.
SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH
"The showtime nature of Congress is what they’re responding to."
In the past week, Clark received a primary challenge from Jonathan Paz, a candidate of Bolivian descent who argues that Democratic leadership has grown ineffective.
"I’m challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the House because we need new leadership. Let’s call it what it is. Our Democratic leaders are failing us. They’re not stopping Trump. They’re not making life more affordable. They’re not building a party for the working class," Paz said in a campaign video.
Paz said his father was deported when he was 14 years old.
Clark's challenge follows a similar one to Jeffries, the No. 1 Democrat in the House. Chi Ossé, a progressive-leaning New York City councilmember, decided to run against Jeffries, citing dissatisfaction with Jeffries' resistance to the administration.
"More exceptional ‘leadership’ from our supposed ‘leader,’" Ossé said in a post on X, reacting to news that Jeffries and other Democrats would not pursue impeachment charges against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Ossé has since dropped his bid.
While Jeffries’ challenger has since stepped down, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said he believes the rumblings against Jeffries and Clark are representative of a pocket of frustration that’s going to persist. Moskowitz, who has voted with Republicans on matters like border security and trimming government spending, said those voters and prospective challengers must decide what’s most important to them.
"I think we’re on our way to winning the House in 2026, but Democrats along that journey are going to have to make a decision whether they want power or purity," Moskowitz said.
"Once we’re in the majority, we can have that purity discussion policy of which way we go. But we have got to get power before we can get there."
He believes the challenges are needlessly divisive and pose a threat to the party’s solidarity.
PROGRESSIVE POWERHOUSES LAUNCH PRIMARY WAR AGAINST DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT AHEAD OF 2026 ELECTIONS
"Democrats are very capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with, you know, ‘Let’s primary our entire leadership as we’re trying to take the House,’" Moskowitz said.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who has called on his party to make strides toward the political center, said he thinks those individuals should be evaluated on an individual basis and not extrapolated out to represent all Democrat voters.
"I think it’s politics. Different people have different motivations. Some people want to run because of their lifelong ambitions. Some people aren’t happy with the way things are. Some people want to try to change the world," Suozzi said.
"I don’t know about these individual cases."
GOP SEIZES ON DEM CIVIL WAR AS PROGRESSIVES JUMP INTO KEY 2026 SENATE RACES: ‘THEY'RE IN SHAMBLES’
Latimer believes challengers are also wrong about the relative ineffectiveness of Democratic leadership. He believes that the party has managed to secure victories that have flown under the radar — even in the shadow of a Republican governing trifecta.
"Now you have polling data that shows that Americans understand that the shutdown was a fight over healthcare, that healthcare benefits have to be saved," Latimer said, referring to the government’s recent shutdown over Obamacare federal subsidies that seemingly left Democrats largely empty-handed.
"That’s smart. But it’s not necessarily what someone wants to [see] because it doesn’t have the showy nature of it."
Instead of appeasing the more highlight-focused portions of the party, Latimer urged his fellow Democrats to instead focus on a more strategically advantageous use of their time.
"The voter's in the middle," Latimer said.
"If you want to win the House, you’ve got to win people over who haven’t been committed to you. You’ve got to convince them that your strategies are right. I think that’s what leadership is doing."
On Dec. 18, 2019, for what was then the third time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a powerful speech invoking the late Elijah Cummings, a civil rights hero and former congressman.
Pelosi: As our beloved chairman Elijah Cummings, an oversight committee chair, our North Star, said when announcing his support for this action, “When the history books are written about this tumultuous era, I want them to show that I was among those in the House of Representatives who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny.” He also said, almost prophetically, “When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?”Elijah, as you know, has since passed on. Now he is dancing with the angels, and I know that he and all of us here are very proud of the moral courage of members who want to honor the vision of our founders for a republic, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform to defend it, and the aspirations of our children to live freely within it. Today we are here to defend democracy for the people. May God bless America.
A few weeks later, the Republican-controlled Senate held Trump’s impeachment trial, where then-Rep. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, delivered a similarly emotional message in his closing arguments.
Schiff: But here, right is supposed to matter. It's what's made us the greatest nation on Earth. No constitution can protect us if right doesn't matter anymore. And you know you can't trust this president to do what's right for this country. You can trust he will do what's right for Donald Trump. He'll do it now. He's done it before. He'll do it for the next several months. He'll do it in the election if he's allowed to. This is why if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters. And the truth matters. Otherwise, we are lost.
Republican senators—many of whom voted to impeach then-President Bill Clinton—ultimately shirked their constitutional duties and acquitted Trump.
Without a clear party leader after losses up and down the ballot in 2024, progressive Democrats are wading into next year’s most competitive Senate primaries and exposing deep ideological rifts that some strategists warn could alienate swing voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Republicans have celebrated progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s decision to launch a Senate campaign in Texas. While President Donald Trump has dismissed her as "low IQ," Crockett has built a national audience, amassing millions of social media followers and the name recognition to instantly reshape the race.
"The Democratic Party, they’re in shambles everywhere around the country — and no place more obvious than Texas," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. "Jasmine getting in this race is great news."
For Republicans, Crockett’s rise supports their argument that Democrats are veering too far-left to compete in red and purple states. Her campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's comment request.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is defending his seat, agreed, telling Fox News Digital, "She can't win, so I'm really happy she's decided to run."
PROGRESSIVE POWERHOUSES LAUNCH PRIMARY WAR AGAINST DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT AHEAD OF 2026 ELECTIONS
And while Republicans breathe a sigh of relief, as Texas could be a pick-up opportunity for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee in 2026, some moderate Democrats are not convinced that a progressive candidate like Crockett will benefit the party in the long run.
Liam Kerr, a Democratic strategist and co-founder of the centrist group Welcome, published an October report titled, "Deciding to Win," warning that Democrats risk alienating voters by embracing far-left positions.
"Any Democrat who can do math should be worried," Kerr told Fox News Digital, arguing that "it's not just losing this race."
"It's also damaging the overall party brand, hurting candidates down-ballot, and losing the muscles you build that focus on persuading voters," he said.
Crockett has gone viral for her public missteps and gaffes, from calling Gov. Greg Abbott, "Governor Hot Wheels," to referring to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as a "bleach blonde bad built butch body," during a House Oversight Committee hearing.
"When you explicitly say we don't need Trump voters to win, you're not only denying mass, you're denying an opportunity for voters to consider Democrats for other races and in the future," Kerr said.
Kerr added that "centrists need to be off the sidelines with the same energy that the left is bringing to these fights."
"Republicans have developed a very clear framework for voters to view Democrats as elite, out-of-touch, and extreme," Kerr explained. "Every time a high-profile Democrat says something out of touch or extreme, it just adds credence to that, and it's like the swing voter is permanently on a jury, where Republicans have a strong prosecutor and Democrats have terrible witnesses, and you just keep giving more pieces of evidence that you're guilty of extremism."
And Republicans who spoke to Fox News Digital this week seemed to be following that very playbook.
"All across the country, what we're seeing is Jasmine is being repeated, replicated all across the country," Scott said. "Socialism is in vogue in the Democrat Party. It is a sad day around the country for those who believe that the Democrat Party was going to have a comeback. They're not coming back. We're going to win, keep the majority, expand the majority all across the map."
Yet, the Democratic Party has claimed to be on the "offense" following gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey this year and after losing a ruby red Tennessee district by nine points in December's special election.
But Scott, who is the Republican spearheading efforts to maintain the Senate majority, said the buck doesn't stop at Crockett.
"The Democrats, you look at who's in their primaries – cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs," Scott said. "Michigan, a devastating manifestation. Three Democrats fighting tooth and nail to lose to Mike Rogers."
Michigan's Democratic Senate candidates include rising progressive star state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Sen. Bernie Sanders-aligned Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, who recently filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Cornyn said progressive candidates jumping into these Senate Democratic primaries prove the "Democratic Party has become the captive of the left wing," pointing to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's successful socialist campaign.
"Even people like Chuck Schumer have been hijacked by the Bernie Sanders and AOC wing of the Democratic Party," Cornyn said, referring to progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment regarding the implication that he is losing control of Senate Democrats.
Cornyn, who served as NRSC chair for two terms, said that groups, like the DSCC, are losing power as candidates can find national recognition and build their own coalition without the support of the organized political parties.
"The organized political parties have lost power because of the advent of Super PACs and all these various ways that people, even without political party support, can basically win these contested primaries, and together with those small turnout in the primaries and usually the most rabid activists, they elect people who are ultimately, and I hope, unelectable," Cornyn said.
And Kerr told Fox News Digital that the DSCC "has a very strong track record, but the political industry is moving away from parties being in control."
JASMINE CROCKETT USES TRUMP'S 'LOW IQ' INSULTS TO LAUNCH HER TEXAS SENATE CAMPAIGN IN DEBUT AD
"The formal party has less and less power every year that goes by. And individual candidates who are able to fundraise and communicate directly to hardcore Democrats are gaining more and more power relative to the party," Kerr said, arguing that the DSCC's "ability to slow or stop these candidates is diminishing over time."
When reached for comment, the DSCC pushed back on criticism that the Senate Democrats' campaign arm is losing control.
"The DSCC has one goal: to win a Democratic Senate majority," DSCC Spokesperson Maeve Coyle told Fox News Digital. "We’ve created a path to do that this cycle by recruiting formidable candidates and expanding the map, building strong general election infrastructure, and disqualifying Republican opponents – those are the strategies that led Senate Democrats to overperform in the last four election cycles, and it’s how we will flip the majority in 2026."
While Republicans are seizing on the messy Democratic primaries and accusing far-left candidates of running the party, Democratic commentator Kaivan Shroff, a Hillary Clinton campaign alum, told Fox News Digital that primaries can actually be a good thing, and as "a qualified rising star in the party whose seat was redistricted," Crockett deserves an opportunity to run.
But Shroff cautioned that it "cannot be a vicious, divisive primary where everything you don't like about the other candidate is a conspiracy or everything is blamed on the establishment."
The Democratic commentator applauded Texas state Rep. James Talarico for quickly affirming his commitment to treating Crockett "with the utmost respect" in the primary process.
"I think there's a great case that it's a net positive, even win or lose, that Crockett is in this race," Shroff said, particularly if the two candidates can debate on policy differences instead of just bashing Trump.
While traditional party structures seem less influential as candidates can build their own brand and coalition, Shroff said the party is lacking clear leadership to steer candidates through such ideological crossroads.
"We saw Nancy Pelosi be a really unique expert at that, and just how she handled the Squad when they first came on, AOC and that evolution was so unique. I don't know that we have a leader in the party that's able to show that sort of leadership at this time," Shroff said.