WASHINGTON — A growing number of Republican senators are calling for delaying next week’s party leadership elections after the GOP’s unexpectedly poor showing in the congressional midterms.
“First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida,” Sen. Marco Rubio, who easily won re-election there, tweeted Friday.
Three other Republican senators — Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ted Cruz of Texas and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming — tweeted that they concurred. Meanwhile, Politico reported that three other Republicans — Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — were circulating a letter to other Republicans to collect signatures for a more formal appeal for a delay.
A spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t respond to a request for comment.
But a person familiar with the matter said the leadership votes would go forward as planned.
Hawley said that the elections, planned for Wednesday morning, should be held only after a Dec. 6 runoff election in Georgia that will determine whether Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock or GOP nominee and former football great Herschel Walker wins that hotly contested seat. Two other races, in Arizona and Nevada, have yet to be settled.
“I don’t know why Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is finished. We have a runoff in #GASenate - are they saying that doesn’t matter? Don’t disenfranchise @HerschelWalker,” Hawley tweeted.
Hawley has said he opposes keeping McConnell in the job. Rubio’s tweet made no reference to McConnell or indicate whether he favored some other colleague to take the party’s top job in the chamber.
A Rubio adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said the tweet wasn’t about McConnell or any leader. Rubio is frustrated by the poor Republican showing in Tuesday’s election, the adviser said, and wants the Senate GOP conference to decide on what policies to pursue in order to appeal to voters in 2024 before agreeing on a leadership team.
McConnell has repeatedly insisted he has support from enough Senate Republicans to win another term as leader in a vote set for Nov. 16. But McConnell’s support is not unanimous.
Hawley earlier this week was asked by reporters who he wants to see in a leadership role in the Senate and he responded, “not Mitch McConnell.” Politico reported Friday that Scott, the head of the Senate Republican campaign arm who has been at odds with McConnell, was considering a bid for leadership until it became evident that the GOP may not win a majority.
Former President Donald Trump, whose status in the party took a hit as a result of the weak performance of candidates he endorsed, has been in a running feud with McConnell. In an interview with Fox News, he called McConnell a “lousy” leader and said that if he wins the presidency again, McConnell will “be out in two minutes.”
Democrats have a good chance of maintaining control of the Senate. They scored a major victory with John Fetterman taking what had been a Republican-held seat in Pennsylvania. Either party would need to win two of the three outstanding races, in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, for a majority.
Republican disappointment over the midterms also has triggered infighting among party members in the US House.
Although there are more than two dozen races yet to be called, Republicans are on track to win a narrow majority. That has complicated House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the speaker when the new Congress convenes in January.
A hard-core conservative faction of Republicans, who already were wary of McCarthy, is holding back support for him and bargaining for greater say in how a Republican House would be run.
(Zach C. Cohen contributed to this report.)
