Rick Scott picks up votes after Senate Republican leader forum
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) picked up two more public endorsements for his Senate GOP leadership bid on Tuesday as senators left a multi-hour discussion about what they want the future of leadership to look like.
Why it matters: On the eve of Wednesday's leadership election, Scott — as well as Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) — gave their final pitch and answered colleagues' questions on everything from amendments to the debt ceiling to the border.
Driving the news: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who organized and led the meeting, posted on X shortly after its conclusion that he would be voting for Scott.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also said she would back the conservative dark horse.
- Mitch McConnell did not attend — instead receiving an award at the AEI dinner.|
The latest: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) chimed in Wednesday morning, posting on X that he too would vote for Scott.
- "I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I'm proud to stand with him again. For 12 yrs, I've been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will," Cruz said.
By the numbers: That brings Scott's total public vote tally up to eight.
- Thune now has five public endorsements.
- Cornyn has one.
Between the lines: Public endorsements can signal momentum for a candidate, but they do not necessarily translate to final support on a secret ballot.
- Even conservatives who have thrown their support behind Scott shared optimism about all three candidates and their willingness to address what they see as issues in the way the Senate has been led — especially when it comes to allowing votes on amendments.
- "I do think we're at an inflection point in the Senate's history where we need aggressive reform and an aggressive return to the rules that made this entity something worthy of the title of the world's greatest deliberative body," Lee told reporters.
Zoom in: Scott handed out a presentation of his vision to his colleagues during the meeting, which listing his experience and his priorities if he becomes leader.
- Those priorities included confirming presidential nominees, reconciliation and tax reform as well as securing the border.
- Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), who is backing Scott, made a pitch once again for delaying the vote. Johnson told reporters that the meeting "might have been a discussion enough to have people say, 'let's go ahead and vote.'"
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
