Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) was eliminated on the first ballot in the race to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Senate.
None of the three contenders vying to become the next GOP leader received a majority of the votes in a secret ballot cast Wednesday morning. That means senators will proceed to a second round, with the lowest vote-getter knocked out according to conference rules.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) received 23 votes and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) had 15 to advance. Scott was eliminated with 13 votes.
A second ballot introduces great uncertainty into the race, with Scott’s votes freshly available for the remaining two candidates. Once a majority leader is chosen, Republicans will elect the remainder of their leadership team.
The only other contested race is for conference chair, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) challenging Republican Policy Chairwoman Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) bid to move up the leadership ranks.
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