As Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, all eyes are on the three-way contest to replace Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has held the top GOP post for nearly two decades and is stepping down at the end of the year.
Three senators are running in a secret ballot election Wednesday for the leadership spot: Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Rick Scott of Florida. The stakes of the leadership battle are high, as the new Senate majority leader will have significant influence over the party’s ability to push through President-elect Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, Cabinet appointees, and key legislative priorities.
The three candidates have been working to position themselves as the best ally to Trump and the most capable leader to unify the party. For Thune and Cornyn, aligning with Trump without alienating the more moderate and establishment wings of the party will require delicate balancing. Scott, on the other hand, is positioning himself as the most Trump-aligned candidate in the race, and has won the support of powerful Trump advisors including tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Trump is yet to endorse a candidate, but he’s using his influence in other ways, demanding that the next majority leader allow recess appointments to bypass confirmation votes and quickly push through his nominees.
Here’s what to know about the candidates vying to be the next Senate Republican majority leader.
John Thune
Thune, who currently holds the No. 2 Senate Republican leadership spot, is widely viewed as the establishment choice to succeed McConnell. A longtime member of the Senate leadership team and McConnell’s right-hand man, Thune, 63, would likely focus on maintaining party unity and advancing a traditional conservative platform—tax cuts, defense spending, and economic deregulation.
Thune’s candidacy is viewed by many as a continuation of McConnell’s approach to Senate leadership, which prioritized institutional stability and incremental legislative progress. Thune has said that under his leadership, Republicans would quickly push through Trump’s judicial nominations and Cabinet appointments, including via recess appointments if necessary to avoid Democratic roadblocks. He’s also an effective fundraiser, having raised over $31 million for the Senate races during this election cycle. Thune’s emphasis would be on ensuring that the Senate functions efficiently, but his challenge will be to balance the demands of traditional conservatives with the growing influence of Trump-aligned populists in the party.
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While Thune has endorsed Trump’s policies in recent years, he has faced criticism from Trump’s supporters due to his past statements about the former President’s role in the Jan. 6th, 2021 Capitol attack. Thune said that Trump’s efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power were “inexcusable” and voted to certify the results of the 2020 election. “South Dakota doesn’t like weakness,” Trump tweeted in December 2020. “He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!” Thune went on to win re-election easily, and he has since worked to mend his relationship with Trump, making multiple visits to Mar-a-Lago this year and publicly supporting Trump’s agenda. Thune pledged to work closely with Trump if elected to Senate Republican leadership but has advised the President-elect to not intervene in the leadership race, claiming that it’s in Trump’s “best interests” to not take a side.
John Cornyn
Cornyn, a former Majority Whip and veteran of the Senate, is another establishment figure in the race. Known for his experience in legislative negotiations, Cornyn, 72, has spent years building relationships across the aisle, with a particular focus on judicial appointments and tax reform. As leader, he would likely prioritize conservative fiscal policies, judicial confirmations, and maintaining a steady defense budget.
Like Thune, he has a long history of fundraising for Republican candidates, bringing in more than $400 million over his 22 years in the Senate. However, Cornyn’s reputation as a pragmatist and dealmaker could make him less appealing to the party’s more populist wing. He has worked closely with Democrats on several major pieces of legislation, including the 2021 gun control bill, which has drawn the ire of some in the GOP’s far-right flank. Cornyn has also distanced himself from Trump at times, most notably after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Last year, ahead of the Republican primaries, he said that Trump could not win re-election and that Republicans should pick an alternative candidate. “I think President Trump’s time has passed him by,” Cornyn said in May 2023. “I don’t think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base.”
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Still, Cornyn has worked to repair his relationship with Trump, appearing at rallies and supporting Trump’s calls for fast-tracking judicial nominations. “As I told President Trump, I’m interested in getting the band back together again,” Cornyn said on Fox News on Nov. 4.
Rick Scott
Scott, the former governor of Florida, has positioned himself as the most direct challenge to the GOP establishment in this race. A staunch ally of Trump, Scott, 71, has leaned into the President-elect’s populist rhetoric and would push the “America First” agenda as the Senate Republican leader. As a two-term governor of Florida, Scott implemented tax cuts, deregulation, and conservative policies on education and healthcare, and he has carried those priorities into his tenure as a senator. Scott also leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is in charge of electing Republicans.
Scott’s campaign for Senate leader has been bolstered by his close relationship with Trump, as well as endorsements from key figures within the MAGA movement, including Musk, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, and former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Still, Scott faces an uphill battle: he is less popular among Senate colleagues than Thune and Cornyn, and it would be unusual for him to leapfrog his more senior counterparts in a body that traditionally values experience and seniority. Scott was elected to the Senate in 2019.
