There is speculation around who may replace Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader. Potential candidates include John Thune, John Barrasso, John Cornyn, Rick Scott, Tom Cotton, and Steve Daines.
Thune, Barrasso and Daines have current leadership roles that could position them well.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Mike Berg said, “Chairman Daines is laser-focused on taking back the Senate majority.”
Barrasso is seen as a potentially unifying option given his conservative credentials and Trump endorsement.
Sen. Barrasso said, “What I’m focused on is the election.”
“I’m going to talk to members of the conference, hear what they have to say, listen to them in terms of what direction that they want to take with us,” he explained.
Sen. Roger Marshall said, “It’s so important that the next leader have a very positive relationship with the president.”
He added, “I think that this next leader needs to have a little bit more, maybe a lot more of a populist view.”
Cornyn and Scott have also expressed interest in running.
However, some Republicans want a leader with a closer relationship to Donald Trump, who is likely to run for president again.
Senators like Tommy Tuberville and Roger Marshall said the next leader needs a more “populist” and “positive” view aligned with Trump.
The leadership race is expected to involve jockeying between the various GOP factions as the party looks for a unifying successor to McConnell.
