Mitch McConnell Reelected GOP Senate Leader—Surviving Hard-Right Challenge

Topline

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will serve another two years as the top Senate Republican after staving off a late challenge from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), as GOP leaders face blowback for the party underperforming in the midterms.

Key Facts

McConnell beat Scott by a vote of 37-10, with one senator voting “present,” GOP lawmakers told reporters following a closed-door meeting that lasted more than three hours.

The election was carried out via secret ballot, leaving it unclear how all senators voted.

Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee and is widely considered one of the most hard-right senators, was the first Republican to challenge McConnell since he became Republican Senate leader in 2007.

Scott announced his leadership bid on Tuesday, saying Republicans needed “bold change” after a poor midterm showing, though McConnell said he was confident he had enough votes to be reelected.

Key Background

Republican leaders are reeling after the party failed to win back control of the Senate in last week’s midterms, even as it appears the GOP is on pace to win the House by a narrow margin, despite expectations of Republicans cruising in on a “red wave” to capture both chambers. Former President Donald Trump’s stature in the party appears to have taken the biggest hit, as voters widely rejected midterm candidates in competitive races who embraced his false allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also faced backlash. The GOP nominated McCarthy on Tuesday as the party’s choice for the next Speaker of the House but he only won in a 188-31 vote among Republicans, leaving him well short of the 218 votes he needs from the full House to win the speakership. Members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus led the pushback, and they are expected to make demands in exchange for supporting McCarthy prior to the full House vote.

Crucial Quote

“I think Senator McConnell’s view is that Trump is largely to blame. And that Republicans have an image problem because of Trump,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who publicly backed Scott, told CNN after the vote. “I have to say that I don’t agree with that.”

Tangent

Tensions have simmered between Scott and McConnell for months but reached a fever pitch after the midterms, with allies of McConnell blaming Scott’s National Republican Senatorial Committee—a fundraising platform of Senate Republicans—for the poor midterm results. McConnell also notably panned a Scott proposal released earlier this year that would require low-income Americans to pay income taxes and require Congress to reauthorize Social Security and Medicare every five years.

Further Reading

Rick Scott To Challenge Mitch McConnell As Senate Republican Leader (Forbes)

Kevin McCarthy Fends Off Challenge For House Speaker Nomination—But Still Doesn’t Have The Votes To Win (Forbes)