GEOFF BENNETT: And now, for a Republican perspective, we're joined tonight by Ronna McDaniel.

She chaired the Republican National Committee for seven years, including throughout President Trump's first term.

She's now a campaign surrogate for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan.

And she joins us tonight from Lansing.

It's good to see you.

Welcome to the "News Hour."

RONNA MCDANIEL, Former Chair, Republican National Committee: Great to be with you.

Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: And we should say you chaired the RNC during President Trump's first midterm back in 2018.

House Republicans then lost a net total of 41 seats.

In your view, how does the political environment right now compare to then, eight years ago?

RONNA MCDANIEL: Well, I would also add that we picked up Senate seats in that first midterm, which was unprecedented to pick up Senate seats in a midterm.

Listen, in the first midterm of a sitting president, you typically lose seats in the House or flip a chamber.

That's been the precedent for over 100 years.

And when I was RNC chair in 2022, we actually flipped the House and won that back for Republicans under Biden.

So that's what happens in midterms, and I think this is something that we're seeing this midterm.

I do think that the House probably will flip to Democrats this cycle.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let me ask you this, though.

As you look across the electorate, where do you see the greatest opportunities for Republicans?

What are you watching most closely tonight?

RONNA MCDANIEL: Well, I'm in Michigan, so I'm looking at Mike Rogers.

This is a Democrat seat that they have held.

We haven't had a Republican in the Senate here since 1994.

Mike has run a very good race.

He has made inroads in traditionally Democrat constituencies, the Jewish vote, the Black vote.

He actually has a whole Democrats for Rogers coalition.

And then we saw the endorsement of Haley Stevens, a sitting Democrat congresswoman come out and endorse Mike Rogers.

So I think this is a seat that we're looking at very, very closely.

GEOFF BENNETT: And looking nationally, you said recently that Republicans shouldn't be spending hundreds of millions of dollars defending a Texas Senate seat.

How did the party find itself fighting for seats that should have been safely Republican?

RONNA MCDANIEL: Well, I don't know if I said they shouldn't be.

I said it's concerning to have to spend that much, because that means you're not spending in races where you can pick up, right?

Like, if you're spending in a safe -- in a safe seat in a safe state, that takes away resources from potential gains.

But, of course, we are battling in red areas right now.

I do think we're going to hold the Senate.

I do think Texas comes through, Kansas comes through.

These are states that Donald Trump won by double digits.

And so, while I think we may lose the House, I think the Senate stays in Republican hands.

GEOFF BENNETT: Republicans are asking to give -- asking voters, rather, to give President Trump two more years of unified Republican control.

What would Republicans deliver that they haven't already?

RONNA MCDANIEL: Well, the Big Beautiful Bill did provide no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security.

I think getting out of this Iran war, you will see gas prices go down, which I know is heavy on the minds of many voters across this country.

Affordability is a huge issue.

And as you see the policies of deregulation come forward, things that Trump has enacted, I think you will see a better economy in the next two years.

And he wants to complete that with Republicans.

He may not have that opportunity.

I hope the Democrats don't go in and just go into lawfare and trying to attack Republicans in retribution, which we have heard our own Senator Elissa Slotkin say is on the agenda for them.

I actually hope that we can work together and find ways to help the American people, because that's what they want.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Trump will not be on the ballot again.

Is the Republican Party prepared for a political future without him?

RONNA MCDANIEL: I think he will have a lot of say in the nominee for 2028.

I -- he's not somebody who fades to the background very easily.

The Democrats look like they're going to have something like 20 candidates running for president.

I don't think our field has shaped up yet.

And I think whoever our nominees are or whoever's running, they're probably going to go and talk to President Trump first, and he will have a lot of impact in that primary because he does have huge sway with our base, specifically in primaries, and we saw that across this cycle as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Trump, his approval rating is underwater.

His numbers on the economy are even worse.

They're in the 20 percent range.

When he tells voters to act as if he's on the ballot, is he helping Republicans or hurting them, in your view?

RONNA MCDANIEL: Yes, there are Republicans that just don't turn out, or there are Trump voters that just don't turn out unless he's on the ballot.

So him saying that to his voters is key, because we have seen in past midterms -- and I know this personally as former RNC chair -- those Trump voters sit out without his name on the ballot.

So those are the people he's talking to.

And Republicans are going to need those voters to turn out, traditional Republicans to turn out, and we are certainly going to need independents if we're going to win in states like Michigan, Maine, some of these battleground states.

In Kansas and Texas, I think him saying that does mean a lot to those Republican voters because he did win those states by double digits, and that is where he can really help.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ronna McDaniel, former RNC chair, great to have your perspectives as part of our coverage.

Thanks for being with us.

RONNA MCDANIEL: Thanks for having me.