Inside the final pitches from Senate GOP leader contenders
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) wait to speak to reporters. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
All three candidates for Senate GOP leader are making MAGA appeals, committing to more floor debate and amendments and better communication as they make their final pitch ahead of Wednesday's leader elections.
Why it matters: A growing number of senators want a new style of leadership after nearly two decades under Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — and years of battles between him and President-elect Trump.
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) is promising more amendments, more power and input from average senators, a focus on getting young, conservative judges confirmed and to spend time over the lame duck discussing how to make the chamber work better, he told colleagues in a letter on Tuesday, obtained by Axios.
- Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to tell senators in a Tuesday night meeting that he won't assume bills get 60 votes, and he will encourage floor debate and amendments. He also is promising regular meetings with the House Speaker and Vice President Vance as well as a December conference on GOP priorities, a source familiar tells us.
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) launched his bid as the leader most committed to significant change. He has taken a notably more public approach to his bid for leader, blanketing the airwaves and riding a wave of support from influential voices in Trump world.
The intrigue: One source close to Scott points out that many of the plans for a more open process that are being laid out by Thune and Cornyn mirror the kind of changes Scott has been pushing for the past two years.
How it works: The candidates will make their final argument to be leader tomorrow morning before the vote — including nominating speeches from two colleagues, each.
- If none of the three candidates win 27 votes in the first round, the candidate with the lowest vote total is removed and they all vote again.
- Scott won 10 votes when he ran against McConnell in 2022. He'd need to nearly triple his level of support to win a majority of Senate Republicans in 2024.
- If Scott is eliminated in the first round, it is a big question whether Thune or Cornyn will be more likely to gain his supporters' votes.
