Senate's hungry freshmen
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At least three potential candidates are exploring their shot at leading the Senate GOP campaign arm for Mitch McConnell's heir in 2026, we have learned.
- Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) is emerging as the most serious possibility to chair the NRSC, five sources familiar with Capitol Hill and downtown conversations tell us.
- Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) are also scoping it out, according to multiple sources.
Why it matters: Protecting the Senate GOP's likely majority in 2026 is a high-risk and high-reward proposition.
- If Trump wins next month, the NRSC will be playing defense in Maine and North Carolina. The job will be much harder than this cycle, when the GOP's most vulnerable incumbents were in red states such as Texas and Florida.
- If Kamala Harris wins, Republicans will look to knock off incumbents in Georgia and Michigan.
- In either scenario, it's an opportunity for a senator to jumpstart a potential leadership career ā and meet the party's most important donors along the way.
What we're hearing: Schmitt and his allies have had positive reactions to early conversations about the role, but he has not made a final decision, according to a source close to Schmitt. NOTUS first reported on Schmitt considering the role.
- Britt has been more visibly boosting Republican campaigns lately. She held a big dollar fundraiser for NRSC late last month, hosted Trump and NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) at the Alabama-Georgia game and spun for JD Vance at the VP debate.
- "She isn't currently running for NRSC Chair, but she's always open to how she can best serve the conference," a source close to Britt told us.
Zoom out: Both Schmitt and Britt are fellow Senate freshmen, a tight-knit and ambitious group that also includes Vance.
- Schmitt is a likely option for attorney general if Trump wins in November.
- Hagerty, elected in 2020, is a top contender for a potential Trump cabinet position ā even secretary of state, sources have told us. It would be unusual for a NRSC chair to face their own re-election campaign while leading the party's broader election fight.
The bottom line: NRSC chair can be a brutal gig, with lots of time on planes away from family.
ā Stef Kight and Hans Nichols
