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Two names emerge to replace McConnell as Senate GOP leader

Posted on by Bobb
Two names emerge to replace McConnell as Senate GOP leader


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OPINION: This article may contain commentary reflecting the views of the author.

The race for Republican leadership in the Senate is heating up.

Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas have just one week to take over the top spot now that the GOP controls the upper chamber.

Several senators and staffers say Thune, Cornyn and their friends have been calling members nonstop to drum up support ahead of next week’s election to replace Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who is leaving his post as Senate GOP leader, The Hill reported.

Senate GOP Whip Thune is considered the slight favorite to replace the Kentucky Republican. He is the best at counting votes for the Republican Party, and has done a great job of raising money and running campaigns.

But not many people are writing Cornyn off. He used to be a whip and was a close friend of the outgoing leader. He is also believed to have strong ties to the conference’s more conservative members.

“Thune is going to lose, but Cornyn is going to get close,” one GOP aide familiar with the leadership dynamic told The Hill. “It will be bloody and brutal, and money will matter.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also running again, but he likely won’t make it through Wednesday’s first ballot, which will be hidden. Members of the 119th Congress who take office when it begins next year will be the only ones able to vote.

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A person familiar with Thune’s work says he was always on the road in October supporting GOP Senate candidates. Over the past month, he has replaced every candidate in close races except for Carey Lake in Arizona.

The source also said he raised more than $33 million for himself, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and other party candidates.

Cornyn also had good numbers. As of late September, he had raised $26 million, including nearly $12 million for the NRSC, while campaigning and raising money in key swing states such as Nevada, Michigan and Indiana.

His staff also said that since he became a senator in 2002, he has earned a total of $406 million.

But President-elect Trump, who won the race for the White House by a landslide, remains the biggest story next week. Neither Thune nor Cornyn were ardent MAGA supporters, but since the beginning of the year they have both been trying to mend fences with him.

Thune had to do more work on the issue than Cornyn because he supported Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) campaign for president and Trump told Scott he would face a primary fight in the Mount Rushmore State. Neither came to fruition, and Thune ended up easily winning a fourth term.

Thune, on the other hand, seems eager to get along with the new president. The same person says they met at Mar-a-Lago in March and have spoken several times since then, most recently on Wednesday.

Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is leaving his post as chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who is on Thune’s team, are two of his biggest supporters. Both are important Trump supporters and have spoken with him extensively during the 2024 cycle.

“John Thune worked very hard to … make sure that he and Trump were on the same page,” Mullin told The Hill in an interview. “He did a good job of keeping in touch with the president, calling him and checking in on him. I think it’s good.”

Cornyn, on the other hand, supported Trump earlier this cycle and has maintained contact with the president-elect. The last time he saw Trump was when he traveled to Texas at the end of October and Nevada at the beginning of the month.

According to Thune, who spoke to Fox News on Wednesday, he told Trump not to enter the leadership race but could do so if he wanted.

“The president obviously has enormous influence, and if he decides to use it, I think, in leadership elections, especially in the Senate … it’s kind of an inside baseball trick,” Thune said. “And the president, if he wants, it is his prerogative to speak on this matter. Honestly, I think if he allows it to happen, we will find the right person.”

“The way things are going, it’s 100 percent Thune’s doing at this point. It’s just a formality. I don’t understand how Cornyn gets there, and I don’t understand how Rick Scott gets there. They’re both good guys, I just don’t understand how they do it,” Mullin said. “This leadership election has been going on for a long time. … Now this is the closing argument and making sure that your voice remains at the same level (and) continues.”

Thune also has some fundamental advantages. He is almost a decade younger than Cornyn, who is 72. He also won’t have to run again until 2028, unlike Cornyn. He could face a primary fight from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is not a fan of either of them.

“It’s a headache. It’s a distraction. This is not a good time for Cornyn,” a GOP aide said. “You are a brand new leader and suddenly you are protecting your right flank. “He made a lot of deals that were helpful… but for a lot of Texas primary voters, he didn’t do that.”