Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) endorsed his fellow Floridian colleague, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), to be the next Republican leader in the upper chamber of Congress.
Scott is considered the long-shot candidate in the battle to succeed current Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are considered the favorites. Rubio added his name to the list of senators publicly endorsing Scott ahead of the anonymous vote later this week.
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I will be voting for my Florida colleague @ScottforFlorida to be our next Senate GOP leader
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2024
“I will be voting for my Florida colleague @ScottforFlorida to be our next Senate GOP leader,” Rubio said in a post on X.
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Scott has now received endorsements from Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Rand Paul (R-KY), along with Rubio. The Florida senator has also received endorsements from various voices in Trumpworld outside of Capitol Hill, but is considered the biggest underdog of the three candidates.
He’s also been publicly lobbying for Trump to get involved in the leadership race, while others have been more reserved.
Cornyn has been publicly endorsed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), while Thune has been publicly endorsed by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). Because of the anonymous voting method, which senators vote for each of the candidates will not be publicly known.
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Scott had attempted a longshot bid to oust McConnell as leader after the 2022 elections, but lost 37-10. The challenge to McConnell by the Florida Republican in 2022 had marked first contested race for Senate leader of either party since 1996. This year’s Republican leadership contest will be hotly contested, unlike two years ago.
The vote for Senate Republican Leader will occur Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 9:30 a.m., on Capitol Hill, with senators and senators-elect deciding on who will lead the new GOP majority in the upper chamber of Congress. McConnell will still serve in the Senate, but out of leadership, until at least the end of his current term in January 2027.