- Mitch McConnell said there's a "50-50" chance Republicans will win control of the Senate this fall.
- "I think the outcome is likely to be very, very close either way," he said at a Kentucky luncheon.
- McConnell recently said "candidate quality" was a key factor in Senate races, which angered Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday said Republicans had a "50-50" chance of regaining a majority in the upper chamber in the November midterm elections, while also predicting that regardless of the outcome, the body would remain closely divided.
The Kentucky Republican made the remarks at business luncheon outside of Lexington, where he also said Republicans would work with President Joe Biden if the party won control of both the Senate and House this fall.
"Flipping the Senate, what are the chances? It's a 50-50 proposition," McConnell said at the luncheon. "We've got a 50-50 Senate right now. We've got a 50-50 nation. And I think the outcome is likely to be very, very close either way."
"If both the House and the Senate flip, I think the president will be a moderate. He won't have any choice," he added. "And so, we'll try to find ways to make some progress for the country during the last two years of his term … but not big dramatic change."
McConnell's comments come after he received condemnation from former President Donald Trump last week over his remarks that "candidate quality" was a critical factor in Senate races; the GOP leader last week seemingly downplayed the chances of his party to flip the upper chamber.
"I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate," McConnell said last week at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "Senate races are just different — they're statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."
Trump responded by calling McConnell a "broken down hack politician" and attacking the GOP leader's wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, as "crazy."
The relationship between Trump and McConnell has been strained ever since the GOP leader needled the former president over his conduct on January 6, 2021, when rioters breached the United States Capitol and attempted to halt the certification of Biden's 2020 electoral win.
While Trump has continued to rail against the election results, pointing to voter fraud, McConnell on Monday was not keen on hammering away at the issue.
"Election fraud, there is some. It happens occasionally. But our democracy is solid. And of the things we need to worry about, I wouldn't be worried about that one," the GOP Senate leader said.
Republicans are poised to make major gains in Congress this year, buoyed by Biden's middling approval ratings and voter unease over inflation, but Democrats in recent months have had some major legislative successes with a chips-funding bill — which received significant bipartisan support — and the president signing the party's tax, healthcare, and climate bill into law.
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion has become major issue in many Senate races, with Democrats seeking to make the case that the ruling was an overreach as they aim to boost their support among women — a core constituency for the party — and political independents.
Democrats currently control the 50-50 Senate by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote, and the party hopes it can pick up seats in key states including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while also defending incumbents in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire.