August recess supercharges Senate race to succeed McConnell
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks to reporters in the Capitol. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is on top of the fundraising game, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is zipping across the country for events and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is doubling down on his own re-election in a surprisingly tough race.
Why it matters: The senators vying to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as GOP leader are packing their August recess with campaign travel and fundraisers as they jockey for votes from current and prospective colleagues.
Between the lines: Proving yourself helpful in taking back the majority can be a winning message for anyone hoping to step into McConnell's shoes. As the election heats up, so will the internal politicking.
- Leadership battles are mostly waged behind closed doors and end with a secret ballot, but proving your fundraising chops and doing campaign favors go a long way in building the relationships that can turn into votes.
Thune flew first to Wisconsin last week to fundraise with Eric Hovde, and then joined Dave McCormick's bus tour in Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday.
- He'll head to Utah in the coming weeks to fundraise with Rep. John Curtis, the Republican running for Senate there. He will round out the break with trips to Nevada and Ohio for Sam Brown and Bernie Moreno, according to a source familiar with his schedule.
- He has raised more than $19 million this cycle and will headline at least 170 events for candidates and the NRSC.
Cornyn is a renowned fundraiser, bringing in nearly $23 million this cycle through various apparatuses, including millions funneled directly into senate candidates' campaigns, according to a source familiar.
- His victory committee brought in a record $3.5 million last quarter.
- Cornyn is also planning trips to battleground states, including Pennsylvania.
- "Sen. Cornyn is spending the summer doing what he's done for 15 years: crisscrossing Texas and the country to help his Republican colleagues and candidates, including President Trump," a Cornyn spokesperson told Axios.
Scott will be spending most of his time in Florida, where he is up for re-election himself in a competitive state, a campaign spokesperson told Axios. He has also been supporting former President Trump's re-election bid through PAC donations and fundraising events.
- Scott has pitched himself as the leadership candidate willing to make drastic changes to the way the chamber is run, but has not done the same kind of fundraising or campaign travel.
- Multiple Senate campaigns have neither heard from Scott nor received a check from him, sources familiar told Axios.
- His PAC has given tens of thousands of dollars this cycle to the NRSC and the campaigns of Moreno, Brown and Virginia's Hung Cao — as well as other less competitive Senate campaigns — according to a source familiar.
