McConnell warns Democrats could gain four new senators if filibuster is removed

In a visit to Kentucky's fourth-most populous city of Owensboro, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned that Democrats could add four new Democratic senators if the filibuster is removed and Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., achieve statehood.

His comments came at a luncheon in his honor on Tuesday.

McConnell said, “They’ll admit the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as two new states — that’s four Democratic senators in perpetuity — and then they’ll go after the Supreme Court." The senior senator endorsed the filibuster in a prior statement, saying it's good for killing bad ideas and forces ideas to be bipartisan.

"That’s how Democrats are these days, and that’s why you can’t find them in our state anymore," he continued. "And it’s not just us; most of the states between the coasts have become much more Republican because the Democrats have moved so far left.”

It's unlikely the filibuster will be removed, and repeated attempts to do so have been rebuffed. However, independent Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) are departing Congress as Democrat-caucusing senators who supported the filibuster. If Democrats can grab a Senate majority, the filibuster could be in danger.

Nevertheless, McConnell doesn't believe Democrats will grab a Senate majority. He thinks all Republican incumbents running for reelection will keep their seats and is aiming for 51 seats in the Senate. Republican Senate challengers, such as Kari Lake in Arizona, Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania, and Sam Brown in Nevada, have struggled in the polls.

It's also not guaranteed that four Democratic senators will emerge if the filibuster is removed and D.C. and Puerto Rico are made states. Puerto Rico's resident commissioner is a Republican, and many of the territory's politicians align with local parties instead of national.

D.C., however, would highly likely contribute two Democratic senators given its deep-blue nature, a theoretical weight on Republicans.

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McConnell also commented on President Joe Biden exiting the presidential race, remarking that the Democratic Party was "smart."

“They were smart because he was not going to win,” McConnell said. “It was clear after that debate in June that he was going to lose, and winning is a lot better than losing. It was a smart play on their part. It changes the race. Whether it changes it for better or worse, is unclear.”