Exclusive — Steve Daines on Retaking Senate: Find Conservative Candidates to Win Primaries, General Elections

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines (R-MT) spoke to Breitbart News on Wednesday about his plan for the Republican Party to take back the Senate.

When asked about his plan and the “path” for Republicans to “retake the U.S. Senate majority,” Daines highlighted how the “number one” priority is to “find conservative candidates” that can win not only primary elections but general elections against Democrat candidates.

“Well, we started this journey back in January of ’23,” Daines explained during an interview at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “We had some clear strategies: Number one, find conservative candidates that can win not just a primary but a general election. That was where this all started; it’s recruiting great candidates.”

Daines added that there are “certain things you can control” and “some things you can’t control,” such as the “overall macro environment,” the economy, and the changing interest rates.

“Couldn’t control what happened in that debate where Biden completely failed,” Daines continued. “Who knew an assassin’s bullet nearly took out President Trump on Saturday? So, there’s a lot of factors we can control, but, by having quality candidates that can win general elections, what we’re doing is — there’s a sports analogy here. I’m a basketball coach; what do I want to do? I want to, first of all, have the best players on the court, with a minute left, with a chance to win, with your best players with the ball in their hands that know how to appropriately dribble and shoot. This is what we have right now with, really, our top ten races in the country — solid candidates. They’re battle-tested.”

Daines continued to talk about how the Republican Party has been showing a united front, highlighting how former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at the RNC on Tuesday night.

“The party is really coming around to Donald Trump, and that’s an important part of winning in November,” Daines added. “I think President Trump has an opportunity on Thursday night to even think about broadening his unity message, unifying the nation. The nation is yearning for a strong leader. They’ve got a weak commander-in-chief at the moment. They know a strong leader will keep America more safe and secure.”