President-elect Donald Trump’s massive victory has dramatically altered the dynamics of next week’s Senate Republican leadership contest, with candidates rushing to demonstrate who would be the best ally to Trump — hoping he will influence the race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., who is set to retire soon.
“DJT is going to have a bigger impact than anyone thought,” one GOP aide warned about the upcoming Senate Majoity Leader as the party prepares for its November 13 secret ballot.
The contest has largely been seen as a two-way race between South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, with Florida Sen. Rick Scott as a potential spoiler.
Both frontrunners have worked to overcome past conflicts with Trump.
Thune, who once said Trump’s 2020 election challenges would “go down like a shot dog” and endorsed Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the primary, has since visited Trump in Florida.
Cornyn has appeared at Trump rallies in Texas and Nevada, even greeting the former president on the tarmac recently.
“I want to see a majority leader who changes how the Senate operates, who democratizes it more,” Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News, criticizing McConnell’s tenure as “a one-man dictator.”
“You have to be careful with the psychology of the Senate” when picking the leader, warned Sen. Thom Tillis.
“We know each other very well, and we spend hours and hours together. It’s a fairly small club.”
Both Thune and Cornyn have met with Trump’s transition team and pledged to advance his agenda through Congress. The stakes are particularly high as Republicans regain Senate control, positioning the next leader to work with Trump on implementing his priorities.
Meanwhile, Scott has positioned himself as a spoiler after his resounding win in Florida, which was formerly a battleground state but is now firmly under Republican control.
“Senator Scott had a resounding win in Florida and Donald Trump got a mandate from the American people for real change and the Trump agenda,” Scott spokesman McKinley Lewis said. “As Senate Republican leader, Senator Scott will bring Florida’s winning conservative record to Washington and be a true ally to President Trump to execute his agenda and fundamentally change the direction of this country.”