Kellyanne Conway warns down-ballot Republicans they can’t rely on Trump

The former Trump adviser has some words for Republican Senate candidates as they try to ride the Trump wave

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway warned Republicans can’t rely on former president Donald Trump’s strength (Getty Images)

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway warned that downballot Republicans cannot rely on Donald Trump’s star power if they want to help him flip the House and Senate.

The former campaign manager for Trump’s 2016 campaign who served as a counselor in Trump’s administration said Republican Senate candidates need to get it in gear.

“I feel those candidates need to sharpen up their campaigns and catch up with President Trump,” she told The Independent at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday. “ You can't just rely upon his energy and enthusiasm to carry everybody over.”

When it comes to down-ballot Democrats, Conway was clear in her view.

“They all vote in lockstep with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Not a single one of them had the courage, integrity or love of country to come forward and say, ‘I’ve been with Joe Biden recently, he’s not up to the job, we should have someone else try to do this job,’” she said. “And yet they’re leading in the polls because they’re incumbents.”

Conway told The Independent that she believes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sees that Biden could easily lose. Because of that, she added, Schumer will want to protect his incumbents by having them say they need to be a check and balance on Trump.

“That means these Republican candidates in the swing seats, I hope they’ll... really start laying out their plan and their vision and take the case right to these Democrats,” she added.

In numerous polls, Republican Senate candidates trail incumbent Democrats even in states where Donald Trump leads. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday showed that Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia has a double-digit lead as President Joe Biden barely beats Trump and Senator Bob Casey, a longtime friend of Biden’s, leads in his Senate race even as Biden struggles to beat Trump in the state where he was born.

Conway’s rhetoric comes as Republican senate candidates including Eric Hovde in Wisconsin, Tim Sheehy in Montana, David McCormick in Pennsylvania, Bernie Moreno in Ohio, Sam Brown in Nevada and Kari Lake in Arizona are all set to speak at the convention this week.

Democrats currently have a one-seat majority in the Senate. Republicans are all but guaranteed to flip West Virginia’s Senate seat after Senator Joe Manchin elected not to seek re-election when the state’s popular Governor Jim Justice announced his candidacy.

Republicans are largely on offense since they need to beat only one incumbent Democratic senator. Democratic Senators Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio are running in states Trump won twice.

Meanwhile, Michigan, a state Trump won in 2016 and lost in 2020, has an open Senate seat after Debbie Stabenow said she would not seek re-election. In Pennsylvania, Bob Casey is seeking re-election, as is Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin.

Conway said Republicans should tie Democrats to Biden as many voters question whether his age and mental capacity make him able to be president.