On November 16, Senate Republicans will vote on who will serve as their leader. The outcome of that vote will determine if Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continues to occupy that position.
McConnell has made it clear that he wants to continue serving as the GOP leader, which would allow his top lieutenants to keep their jobs. According to reports, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) intends to continue serving as the Senate whip, while Sen. John Barrasso (R-KY) will continue to lead the Senate Republican Conference.
According to reports, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) will take over for Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Under Scott’s direction, the NRSC successfully defended 21 Republican-controlled seats up for election on Tuesday, compared to only 14 for Democrats. Republicans will gain one member in the Senate if they triumph in the Senate elections in Georgia and Nevada.
If McConnell is elected to a second term as leader of the Senate, the next NRSC chair will have to deal with his leadership.
“I predict that Senator McConnell will retain his position as chairman of the Republican conference. And I back him,” Barrasso said in reference to McConnell’s potential for leadership. If you want to run for something similar at the conference, you must go up and declare your candidacy. Additionally, I am not aware of any difficulties with the current leadership.
The majority of Republican senators in the Senate do not support McConnell’s reelection as a leader. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-M), who is opposed to McConnell’s reelection, stated this week that he does not.
No, I don’t think I will, said Hawley. “I’m unsure whether or not any other senators will run. No one has stated they would. However, in my opinion, we require new management in that position.
The majority of the Republican Senate candidates who opposed McConnell either lost their elections, or the contests are still up for grabs.
McConnell’s leadership choices during the midterm elections have been criticized. With $9 million, the McConnell-backed super PAC supported Sen. Lisa Murkowski against rival Kelly Tshibaka while defunding candidates Blake Masters of Arizona and Gen. Don Bolduc of New Hampshire.
The elections in Arizona and New Hampshire are still up in the air. Sen. Maggie Hassan defeated Gen. Bolduc in the contest on Tuesday (D-NH). Due to the state’s ranked vote preference method, it appears that Murkowski may defeat Tshibaka.
There have been rumors that Sen. Scott would like to succeed McConnell. Donald Trump, a previous president, apparently supports Scott. In the lead-up to the midterm elections, Scott has not publicly expressed an interest in the position.