WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump dramatic victory The House’s longest-serving leader, who is stepping down at the end of the year, is running in next week’s three-way race to replace Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Two of McConnell’s trusted lieutenants are Senate Republican No. 2 Whip John Thune of South Dakota and former Texas Sen. John Cornyn, as well as conservative bombshell Sen. Rick Scott. All of the shooters, from Trump’s home state of Florida, are now running for Senate leader Republicans took back the majority in Tuesday’s election.
A third John considered a potential candidate, GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming, has decided not to run for the top job and will instead run for No. 2 majority whip.
Because of their years of leadership and connections in the GOP Conference, Thune and Cornyn were seen as the most likely successors to McConnell. But the couple had several falling outs with Trump and spent the year trying to make amends with the former and now-president.
With Trump back in power, Scott and his conservative allies argue that he should be the one to run the Senate, even though he won just 10 votes when he challenged McConnell for the top job two years ago.
A source familiar with the protection told NBC News that the Trump loyalist sought Trump’s support when he informed the former president in May that he was running for the Republican nomination.
“He supported me when I ran against McConnell two years ago; I hope he will support me this time,” said Scott Fox Business She added on Tuesday that she and Trump have been texting back and forth. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure his agenda is carried out.”
According to a Republican source who spoke on condition of anonymity to share personal strategy, Trump has clearly not entered the race and remains out of it for now.
Both Scott and one of Trump’s allies, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., urged Trump to support former Florida Gov. Scott, who is visiting for Senate re-election Tuesday night.
“If you have any influence over President Trump, ask President Trump to go public and say he wants to work with someone as capable as Rick Scott to carry out his agenda. We must do great things. We have to deliver,” Johnson said he said host on the conservative network, “First.”
“We need outside-the-box, paradigm-shifting thinking in the U.S. Senate, and in working with President Trump, he’s going to need someone like Rick Scott,” Johnson said. “So call on the president to come out and publicly support Rick Scott – probably what Rick will need to become majority leader.”
But even though Trump has been the strongest Republican in the country for nearly nine years, it’s not clear that his endorsement will ensure a victory for Scott. Leadership elections are closed affairs and conducted by secret ballot, meaning the senator’s vote is not known to the public.
A candidate needs a simple majority to win. If there are no candidates on the first ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the race goes head-to-head with the top two candidates.
The victorious Republicans return to Washington next week. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah plans to hold a forum Tuesday with a trio of candidates. The election will be held on Wednesday, and senators-elect including Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Tim Sheehy of Montana and Jim Justice of West Virginia will be eligible to participate.
Appearing on CNBC this week, Thune encouraged Trump to stay out of the domestic leadership race.
“Obviously, if he wanted to, he could have quite a bit of influence on it, but honestly, that would be my preference and I think it’s in his best interest to stay out of it,” Thune said.
“A secret ballot in the Senate is best left to the senators, and when it’s all said and done, he has to work with all of us,” Tune added, “but whatever he decides to do, it’s up to him, because we know.”
Thune’s comments are interesting because he has a lot of work to do to convince his colleagues that he is on the same page as Trump. Thune criticized Trump for his actions on January 6, 2021, as well as some of his policy proposals and offensive rhetoric. He endorsed fellow Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the presidential election, then endorsed Trump months after Scott dropped out.
Just last year, Cornyn said that Trump cannot win in 2024“President Trump’s time has passed,” and he said he will seek other candidates to support in the GOP primary. Months later, as Trump destroyed his primary opponents, Cornyn endorsed Trump.
Prior to the leadership race, both Thune and Cornyn were trying to reconcile with Trump. Thune visited her at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in March, and they have spoken several times since then, most recently last week, according to a source familiar with Thune’s schedule.
Cornyn joined Trump at a rally last month in Reno, Nevada, for Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown, whose race is very close to being called, according to NBC News projections. Cornyn was also with Trump during his visit to Texas.
“As I told President Trump, I’m interested in getting the group back together,” Cornyn told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Monday.
Still, these candidates need the votes of their GOP colleagues. And Cornyn and Thune hope their travel and relationships with both current and incoming senators will serve as a bridge between the more moderate wing of the GOP conference and the MAGA wing of the party, which was already gaining ground ahead of Trump’s victory Tuesday.
A source familiar with Thune’s operation said he raised $33 million this cycle between his accounts for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and direct candidates. According to the source, he was the top fundraiser for the NRSC and he chaired more than 200 events this cycle for the candidates and the NRSC.
Cornyn, who served as whip before Thune, said he was in the job as a vote counter for the GOP leadership when Trump’s tax cuts passed the Senate. The Texan traveled to the battleground state to campaign with candidates in October and raised more than $26 million by the end of September, according to a source familiar with his political operation.
He has traveled the country campaigning for colleagues, including fellow Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, for whom he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars this cycle.