Reince Priebus expressed confidence Sunday morning that Republicans are in position to take back the Senate in November. Appearing on NBC’s "Meet the Press", the Republican National Committee chair cited recent polling data and a cohesive message within the party as grounds for his optimism.
"With a month out, I’d much rather be where we’re at than where the Democrats are at," said Priebus. When pressed by NBC’s Chuck Todd on whether losing the Senate would be a failure, he responded, "I think we’ve gotta win the Senate, I think we will win the Senate, the question for us is, you know, are we gonna win with six, seven or eight seats.”
The latest NBC News/Marist polling has Republican Joni Ernst leading by two in the Iowa Senate race, while Senate Democrat Kay Hagan leads by four points in North Carolina. In the Kansas Senate race, polling shows independent Greg Orman has taken a ten point lead, 48 percent to 38 percent, over incumbent Republican Pat Roberts.
Priebus also discussed the latest policy agenda released by the Republican Party. The "Principles for American Renewal" focused on broad policy initiatives such as growing the economy and healthcare reform. He lauded the initiative as one capable of bringing a similar "GOP wave" to the one in the 1994 election. “When you can put John Boehner, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, Tony Perkins and the Tea Party Express on the same page, what you have is a unified party," said Priebus.
Priebus also commented on the speech President Obama gave to Northwestern University Thursday. "If Barack Obama’s on the ballot and his policies are on the ballot," Priebus said. "It’s gonna be a pretty bad year for Democrats."
IN-DEPTH
- Kansas Surprise: Orman Leads Roberts by 10 in NBC/Marist Poll
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— Dale Armbruster