WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doorways Wednesday to elect a brand new chief, capping a battle that has divided the occasion and pitted a candidate backed by vocal MAGA allies of President-elect Donald Trump in opposition to two long-serving senators with institutional information and deep relationships within the physique.
The three-way race options Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, the present whip; John Cornyn of Texas, a former whip; and Rick Scott of Florida, an underdog candidate who simply gained a second time period. Senate Republicans held a candidate discussion board Tuesday night after Congress returned from a prolonged recess.
The secret poll election is about for Wednesday morning; incumbent and newly elected senators will be capable to vote, and it is unclear who will win. Only a handful of members have stated how they will vote, with most holding their playing cards near the vest. If no one will get a majority on the primary poll, the bottom vote-getter shall be eradicated and the highest two will face off in a second poll.
The winner shall be majority chief for the following two years after Republicans gained management of the Senate within the elections. The victor will substitute Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who’s stepping down from occasion management after an 18-year tenure that made him the longest-serving chief in Senate historical past.
Thune and Cornyn, who had been first elected throughout George W. Bush’s presidency, hail from an institutionalist wing of the GOP and have climbed their manner up the ladder. Both have long-standing relationships inside the convention and may declare to be subsequent in line, with every having served because the No. 2 Republican for six years.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-S.D., stated he is voting for Thune however admitted there’s “little or no” distinction between him and Cornyn. “Although Cornyn advised me yesterday … individuals are saying they seem to be a mirror picture of one another. To which I say, I feel John Thune would take offense to that,” Cramer stated.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a Trump ally who’s backing Thune, stated, “I feel on the finish of the day, Thune nonetheless wins.”
Thune, for his half, stated after the assembly, “We be ok with the place we’re at, however you by no means know till the voters vote.”
Colleagues see Scott, first elected in 2018, as a extra divisive determine, and he has been a vocal critic of McConnell for years. He has aligned himself solidly with the occasion’s MAGA wing and secured some endorsements for the job from Trump allies, together with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, billionaire benefactor Elon Musk and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
“I feel I’m uniquely positioned to essentially assist get the Trump agenda accomplished. … I’m optimistic I’m going to win. I’m speaking concerning the issues that individuals say they care about, and so we’ll see,” Scott advised NBC News on Tuesday.
But Trump, notably, hasn’t weighed in. His capability to anoint his chosen chief is difficult by the key poll, which suggests he will not know which senators do not assist his most well-liked candidate — or be capable to politically punish them.
All three candidates are working on guarantees to hold out Trump’s agenda, a transparent level of settlement amongst them.
Thune and Cornyn are additionally touting their fundraising prowess and donations to assist colleagues win elections.
“As Congress returns to Washington, we should put together the Senate to advance [Trump’s] agenda legislatively and be certain that the president-elect can hit the bottom working together with his appointees confirmed as quickly as attainable,” Thune wrote in an op-ed for FoxNews.com. “The Senate Republican majority will work with President Trump to make sure the Senate calendar permits us to substantiate his nominees and go our shared agenda as rapidly and as effectively as attainable.”
In a letter to fellow Senate Republicans on Tuesday, Cornyn wrote, “In order to Make America Great Again, we should Make the Senate Work Again,” and he promised to decentralize energy.
“To that finish, we are going to reinvest in a Senate committee course of to drive an aggressive legislative agenda that secures our border, reduces federal spending, boosts our economic system, unleashes the nation’s power potential, and reverses dangerous Biden-Harris insurance policies,” Cornyn continued. “Our default place for laws thought of on the ground shall be an open modification course of managed by the committee chairs to permit for amendments and enhance debate.”
As a part of the management shakeup, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming is working unopposed for the No. 2 place of majority whip. And the No. 3 slot contains a battle between Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa.
Asked about Cotton’s group exuding confidence that he has the votes, Ernst stated she’s not so certain.
“Kamala Harris thought she had the votes, too,” Ernst stated.