McConnell faces leadership challenge from Rick Scott as conservatives steam - POLITICO

“I person the votes. I volition beryllium elected. The lone contented is whether it volition beryllium sooner oregon later,” McConnell said. “I don’t ain this job. Anybody successful the league that’s serving tin situation me. And I invited [it].”

Senate Republicans spent astir 3 hours connected Tuesday venting to each different astir the party’s mediocre show successful the midterms, an unusually agelong gathering that exposed heavy frustrations astir the conference’s inability to capitalize connected President Joe Biden’s middling popularity and rising inflation. Republicans failed to flip immoderate Democratic seats and are consigned to the number for 2 much years, prompting immoderate GOP senators to loudly kick successful the backstage luncheon that their deficiency of a unified docket outgo the party.

“We precise seldom get progressive successful immoderate important argumentation consideration. We play defence against Democrats,” griped Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is readying a tally for politician successful 2024 and volition enactment Scott.

Those gripes are coming to a caput with Scott’s challenge, which follows his stewardship of the Senate GOP’s run limb successful a rhythm that could extremity with Republicans losing a seat. Scott, who erstwhile President Donald Trump nudged to equine the absorption bid, was astatine likelihood with McConnell implicit strategy and tactics for months earlier Election Day.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a McConnell ally, said that Scott volition apt accrue votes “in the precocious single-digits” and said GOP leaders person the votes to determination the enactment elections guardant connected Wednesday.

During Tuesday’s meeting, immoderate senators questioned the fiscal acumen of the National Republican Senatorial Committee nether Scott. Others complained astir not having a much affirmative agenda.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke truthful loudly helium could beryllium heard done the doorway of the backstage room, and attendees estimated Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) spoke for astir fractional an hour.

“It was similar Festivus from Seinfeld. The airing of grievances. But the world is, Mitch McConnell has done rather an bonzer job,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), citing taxation reform, blimpish judges and McConnell’s fundraising.

Scott introduced his ain docket earlier this year, which McConnell rapidly criticized for including taxation increases and sunsetting fashionable information nett programs. The Floridian did not articulation different enactment leaders astatine a property league Tuesday aft the league luncheon but wrote to his colleagues successful a missive that the GOP has “to beryllium acold much bold and resolute than we person been successful the past.”

“I recognize that I won’t summation the enactment of each subordinate of our Conference, but we each person a wide prime to make. If you simply privation to instrumentality with the presumption quo, don’t ballot for me,” Scott said successful the connection to colleagues announcing his bid.

Scott is not expected to garner capable enactment to travel adjacent to toppling the leader, with senators and aides projecting helium whitethorn triumph 10 oregon truthful votes of the senators and senators-elect. But helium is pressing guardant anyway, arsenic a sizable number of senators pushes to hold enactment elections until each the Senate races are determined.

Cornyn and different Republicans are disquieted a protracted statement implicit enactment enactment would undermine their electoral prospects successful Georgia. Forty-nine GOP senators and senators-elect are allowed to ballot connected Wednesday, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), whose reelection run is headed to a ranked-choice runoff.

And not each GOP senators invited a enactment fight.

“I don’t deliberation a situation of our Senator McConnell is simply a omniscient decision. It’s thing that volition enactment with america for the adjacent 2 years,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who predicted a “second-guessing crippled arsenic radical tally for president.”

Most Senate Republicans privation to proceed a treatment astir the party’s docket and what did not enactment successful this year’s midterm elections, erstwhile Trump-anointed candidates failed to triumph wide elections and the McConnell-aligned ace PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, did not spot eye-to-eye with Scott’s NRSC connected spending decisions and campaigner quality.

McConnell has his ain mentation for the party’s loss. He said autarkic voters perceived immoderate Republican candidates arsenic “spending excessively overmuch clip connected negativity, attacks and chaos.” He singled retired Arizona GOP campaigner Blake Masters and New Hampshire GOP campaigner Don Bolduc for getting “crushed by autarkic voters.”

But detractors accidental McConnell is besides liable arsenic helium wraps up his eighth word arsenic GOP leader. Cruz charged that “our enactment repeatedly wants to springiness successful to Democrat priorities. I deliberation that is simply a failed enactment strategy.”

“We request a antithetic authorities model. It’s got to beryllium much collaborative. Whoever the person is, you’ve got to beryllium accountable to us. This is simply a radical of equals. It’s got to beryllium tally arsenic a radical of people. This isn’t ‘Animal Farm,’” Johnson said successful an interview. He volition nominate Scott for enactment connected Wednesday, and volition not tally for Republican Policy Committee seat against Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

And not each those looking to postpone privation McConnell out. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she would enactment the Kentuckian adjacent arsenic she joins those successful asking for a delay.

Others, similar Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), accidental they’re looking for caller leadership: “I’m not gonna ballot for Senator McConnell. I’ve made that abundantly clear.” His caller Missouri GOP colleague, Sen.-elect Eric Schmitt, did not remark connected the enactment races Tuesday aft signaling helium wouldn’t enactment McConnell arsenic person earlier this year.

In fact, the recently elected GOP senators became a chaotic paper arsenic soon arsenic they arrived successful municipality Tuesday for orientation. In summation to Schmitt, J.D. Vance of Ohio, Katie Britt of Alabama, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma are each joining the GOP conference.

Should McConnell win, it volition marque him the longest-serving enactment person successful Senate past during the adjacent Congress. And adjacent though helium faces unrest successful the conference, nary 1 is predicting Scott could adjacent travel adjacent to ousting him.

“It’d astir apt beryllium astute to marque definite we had everybody here. And we don’t cognize whether Herschel Walker is gonna beryllium present oregon not,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who supports McConnell. “Is it going to marque immoderate quality whether Sen. McConnell volition beryllium the person oregon not the leader? Probably not.”