Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) announced on Tuesday he will run to replace Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) as the No. 2 Senate Republican.
Barrasso was among the three frontrunners for outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) role, and his decision to instead seek the GOP whip role means he is now running unopposed. It also leaves the race for McConnell’s job wide open for a candidate with conservative bona fides to jump in.
“I have had time to reflect on how I might best serve the Republican Conference and our country,” Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican, said in a statement. “After a lot of thought, I will ask my colleagues for their support and help to work for them as the Assistant Republican Leader.”
The Wyoming senator said in a letter to GOP colleagues obtained by the Washington Examiner that, “One thing that is clear to me is that the Republicans in the Senate need to break from where we are now. We need change.
“We must put consensus within our Conference ahead of deal-making among a few. Additionally, I will continue to push our Leadership team and Conference to align our priorities with the priorities of our voters,” he added.
McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader of all time, announced last Wednesday that this Congress would be his last as head of the GOP conference. The news sparked renewed interest in his potential successors, including Barrasso, Thune, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
The trio of possible Republican leaders, described around Washington as the “Three Johns” due to their shared moniker, are all members of McConnell’s leadership team. Cornyn was term-limited out of his role as whip, with Thune succeeding him, but has remained a key McConnell adviser and ally.
Cornyn and Thune have both thrown their hats in the ring for the top job.
It’s not clear if any other members of the conference will step forward to try and take on McConnell’s mantle, though Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who mounted an unsuccessful challenge to McConnell in 2022, has said he is “seriously considering” getting in the race.
News of Barrasso’s leadership moves comes the same day as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), another ally of McConnell’s, announced that he plans to seek Barrasso’s leadership role.
“Some of my colleagues have approached me about the conference chair job,” Cotton told Fox Business on Tuesday morning, “I’m focusing on that position right now.”
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Barrasso, a former orthopedic surgeon who won his Senate seat in 2006, is described as the most conservative leaning of the Three Johns. Barrasso has emerged as a top critic of the Biden administration in his leadership role and as the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. His conference chairman role involves him being a voice for where the caucus stands on policy and political issues and, similar to Thune’s position, requires him to be actively engaged with members.
Barrasso was also the first of the three men to endorse former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, though Cornyn and Thune followed soon after.