McConnell Is Re-Elected to Lead Senate GOP, Overcoming Party Revolt

Laura Litvan and Mike Dorning
·3-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Mitch McConnell overcame an eleventh-hour challenge and a revolt by some Republicans frustrated with the GOP’s unexpectedly poor showing in the midterms to win reelection as his party’s leader in the US Senate.

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McConnell, an 80-year-old Kentucky lawmaker known as an adept tactician and a hard-nosed partisan, prevailed Wednesday over Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who was in charge of his party’s campaign apparatus in the midterms and announced his candidacy for the minority leader job the day before.

McConnell received 37 votes to Scott’s 10 votes, several Republican senators said after the secret-ballot tally.

“We collectively, I think, had a good discussion about what happened in the election and what happens in the next election,” McConnell said after the closed-door meeting to decide on leadership.

The vote, held in the ornate Old Senate Chamber, followed a tense closed-door Republican meeting Tuesday to hash out their concerns about the loss of the Senate despite soaring inflation and low approval ratings for President Joe Biden. It also comes a day after House Republicans reelected Kevin McCarthy of California as their leader, making the two lawmakers the GOP’s standard bearers heading into the 2024 presidential election.

But both McConnell and McCarthy face significant challenges with growing schisms between the GOP’s more moderate and pragmatic lawmakers from those aligned with former President Donald Trump as he mounts his third White House bid.

Scott’s decision Tuesday to challenge McConnell and an unsuccessful drive by a bloc of GOP senators to delay the elections until after a Dec. 6 runoff for Georgia’s Senate seat underscores that loyalty to McConnell, who long has been at odds with Trump, was shaken after Democrats managed to hold on to Senate control. During a closed-door meeting on Tuesday McConnell and Scott blamed each other for the failure of Republicans to win the majority, according to senators present.

In the House McCarthy overcame a challenge from conservative Representative Andy Biggs, but he must consolidate support within his party before the full House votes on the next speaker Jan. 3.

McConnell next year will become the longest-serving Senate party leader, surpassing the 16-year record held by Democrat Mike Mansfield for more than four decades. While Republicans fell short of a majority in a Senate now split 50-50 between the two parties, McConnell’s reputation as a solid party strategist and a prolific fundraiser helped him beat Scott, who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee for two years leading up to the midterms.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a Super-PAC allied with McConnell, spent more than $240 million in the elections, according to AdImpact data. That’s more than any other outside group seeking to affect the outcome of elections in 2022.

McConnell and Scott have had differences for months over spending to help GOP candidates in last week’s election and Scott’s controversial proposal to switch the popular Medicare and Social Security from permanent entitlements to temporary programs renewed every five years by Congress. McConnell has complained about weak Trump-backed GOP candidates in critical races, including in Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire where GOP candidates lost to Democratic incumbents.

In their elections today, Senate Republicans also elected McConnell’s top deputies. They include:

  • Senator John Thune of South Dakota as Senate minority whip.

  • Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

  • Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa to run the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

  • Senator Shelley Moore Capito to serve as vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference.

  • Senator Steve Daines of Montana to replace Scott at the helm of the NRSC.

(Updates with vote tally, McConnell remarks in third, fourth paragraphs, other positions at end)

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