'Hogwash': NRSC Leadership Blasts Politico Report on GOP Abandoning Key States As 'Misleading'

Republicans are pushing back hard on reports that their Senate campaign arm is effectively abandoning two major battlegrounds, with multiple people who were in the room disputing the account and NRSC Chairman Tim Scott dismissing it with one word:

"Hogwash!"

A Politico report suggesting Senate Republicans were backing away from the critical North Carolina and Georgia races generated plenty of excitement among Democrats this week.

There's just one problem: multiple people who were actually in the room say that's not what happened.

The Washington Reporter's Matthew Foldi spoke with several sources who attended the closed-door meeting at the center of Politico's story, and they pushed back forcefully against the idea that the National Republican Senatorial Committee had decided to leave either state behind.

Politico reported that the NRSC "is shifting its focus away from the North Carolina and Georgia Senate races as it works to shore up red states like Texas and flip other Democratic-held seats." Its story said NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott discussed spending on races in Maine, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire, and treated the absence of North Carolina and Georgia from that list as evidence that the committee had deprioritized them.

But a senior Senate leadership aide who attended the meeting told Foldi that Politico's characterization bore little resemblance to what was actually said.

"At no point was it said, or even insinuated, that the NRSC was leaving North Carolina and Georgia behind."

The aide added that Politico "was either badly misinformed about — or willfully misrepresented — the content of the meeting."

Scott himself was even more direct. "Hogwash! The media is desperate to hand Democrats a win, but this is a new low."

Scott called the report "100% fake news" and argued that episodes like this help explain declining trust in the media.

And he wasn't the only person in the room willing to put his name behind a denial.

Nathan Brand, a senior adviser to Scott and NRSC alumnus, said the account was "entirely made up," adding:

"There are slides, U.S. Senators, and staff who can and will tell you that this story is completely bogus."

NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez went further still, calling Politico's story "completely fabricated" and saying it "should be retracted and Politico should be embarrassed." She also disputed a central implication of the story.

"Chairman Scott didn't make any spending announcements at lunch and he praised Michael Whatley as an example of a candidate who has polling momentum on his side."

That matters because Politico's story wasn't merely reporting that Republicans have a number of competitive Senate races competing for money. Nobody needs anonymous sources to discover that.

The newsworthy assertion was that the NRSC was "shifting its focus away" from North Carolina and Georgia. That framing was subsequently repeated elsewhere as evidence that Republicans were retreating from the two races.

That’s not what the NRSC says is happening. At all. Meanwhile, the Republicans are running into a bit of trouble due to Senate leadership letting down Americans.

As RedState's Jennifer Oliver O'Connell reported Saturday, Republican megadonor Timothy Mellon has sharply reduced his publicly disclosed political giving this cycle, particularly when it comes to Senate Republicans. Mellon spent nearly $200 million supporting Trump and other Republicans during the 2024 election, but has given only about $3 million in publicly disclosed contributions to Republican candidates and groups during the 2026 cycle so far.

Mellon reportedly also gave another $20 million in August to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which supports House Republicans. But his publicly disclosed Senate giving has been conspicuously absent.

O'Connell highlighted the reported reason: Mellon's frustration with Senate Republicans over their failure to pass the SAVE America Act.

She also pointed out that the books aren't closed yet.

"Quarterly FEC reporting comes through again in October," O'Connell noted, raising the possibility that Mellon could still deploy additional money into high-stakes races before Election Day.

So, while the Republican Party has an edge when it comes to this campaign season’s war chest, it is going to have to spend wisely, and perhaps even more importantly, start delivering substantial wins for the voters who put them in the majority to begin with.

Editor’s Note: Republicans are fighting for election integrity by requiring proper identification to vote. It's common sense, yet Democrats are spreading lies about the impact of such a measure. 

Help us continue to call out these lies by joining RedState VIP and using promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.