Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is widely expected to take over the Senate Republican campaign arm Wednesday as the GOP prepares to go back on defense in the 2020 campaign with a challenging map and the president atop the ticket.
Young, the first-term Indiana Republican, is running uncontested to be chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee with the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., which many view as a steppingstone to a higher-profile career in the upper chamber.
But with the bigger role comes a challenge for Young, who is likely to be tasked with leading the GOP charge to maintain their majority for the third cycle in a row. Republicans are slated to defend 20 seats, compared with only 12 Democrat-held seats — a far cry from the nine they had to defend in 2018, two of which they lost.
“It’s certainly a difficult map,” Young said in an interview Tuesday, referring to the number of seats up for the party. “But what we have benefiting the Republican conference is there’s a lot of very quality candidates who are up, and quality candidates who are able to run on a real record of accomplishment.”
Headlining the 2020 re-election group are 11 Senate Republicans who won in 2014, including Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. They helped the GOP retake control of the Senate, making McConnell majority leader.
Only two of the 20 seats are in states where Trump lost in 2016. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who held down the committee chairmanship in 2018, is expected to be a top target for Democrats like Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., was in 2018. Additionally, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to run again despite vows to defeat her after she voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last month.
To many in the conference, Young checks a lot of boxes. A former Marine, the Indiana Republican won a hard-fought campaign in 2016 against former Sen. Evan Bayh and is considered a team player by many. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the soon-to-be No. 4 Senate Republican, noted that Young headed specific fundraising efforts for the party in the 2018 cycle.
“He’s a disciplined, organized guy who’s from a state where elections don’t automatically go one way or another,” Blunt said. “I think he’d be a good choice.”
Young is expected to take the job handily in Wednesday’s vote despite murmurs that either Sen.-elect Mitt Romney or Sen.-elect Rick Scott, both known for their fundraising prowess, may take a dip. However, Republicans say their freshman statuses preclude them from doing it, along with the support for Young.
“He’s certainly hard-working … and focused like a laser,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who served as NRSC chair in the 2010 and 2012 cycles, noting his Marine background.
“We’ve got a lot of people on the ballot, and a little bit of a role reversal from 2018, but I think we all learned some lessons from the midterms and hopefully we’ll take those to heart,” Cornyn said.
Young said that he discussed the opportunity with former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, who chaired the NRSC during the Reagan administration, and believes the new potential role is not only good for him, but also for his state as it would give them a seat at the table to make decisions.
“Which is not a bad thing,” Young said, adding that Lugar made the point to him.
Like any other year, some Republicans are not envious of the role Young is going to take on. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., described the role, as a “thankless job.”
“That’s really a high-energy job,” Rubio said, noting the heavy travel load that comes with it. “I’m just glad somebody’s willing to stand up and do it … It’s very little glory and a lot of hard work.”
Young believes Republicans have many top-notch issues to run on, headlined by an economy that helped them get Republicans across the finish line in multiple races last week, including in Young’s home state as Sen.-elect Mike Braun defeated Sen. Joe Donnelly, R-Ind.
“The sort of things we’ve accomplished in terms of the low unemployment levels, the rising-wage levels, the regulatory reform, the judges will be things our Senate candidates will be running on that will be popular back home,” Young said.
Unlike 2018, 2020 is also a presidential year as Trump is expected to stand for re-election. With him atop the ticket, particularly in red states where most of the seats are up, confidence is high for Young, who wants to make an impact for the GOP.
“It’s about paying it forward. It took a lot of people and a lot of hard work, all rowing in the same direction, to get me in here, and I want to pay back my colleagues and be helpful to the team.”
