GOP infighting 'doesn't ever make sense,' Sen. Tillis says amid public McConnell, Scott disagreement

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Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the GOP must shift focus away from the party leadership's public disagreement over campaign strategy.

Tillis called the back-and-forth between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Rick Scott "a distraction."

McConnell expressed reservations about the "quality" of Republican Senate candidates after Scott and the NRSC declined to interfere in Republican primaries. Scott replied that Republicans have "great candidates," and that criticism of them will "hurt our chances of winning."

"I don’t think it ever makes sense," said Tillis, according to Politico. "We need to focus on the races that we can win and an environment that’s positive."

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Sen. Thom Tillis speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chambers of the U.S. Capitol on June 21, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He added, "And all of this is a distraction away from what most voters are going to be motivated by."

When asked for his 2022 prediction last month, McConnell said there is likely a "greater likelihood" of the House turning Republican than the Senate.

"Senate races are just different, they're statewide," said McConnell. "Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters after a Republican strategy meeting at the Capitol on March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Scott said he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have a "strategic disagreement" after the Kentucky senator said "candidate quality" could hurt Republicans' chances of taking the Senate.

"He wants to do the same thing I want to do: I want to get a majority," Scott told Politico. "And I think it’s important that we’re all cheerleaders for our candidates."

Sen. Rick Scott talks to Fox News Digital at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida. (Tyler Olson/Fox News Digital)

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Former President Donald Trump similarly went after McConnell on social media for expressing skepticism around Republicans' chances of retaking congressional majorities in the November midterms.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the Senate minority leader a "broken down political hack" and challenged his party loyalty.

"Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate," Trump asked.