November 10, 2022 |
In Washington, Senate Republicans will hold their leadership vote next Wednesday.
Wyoming Senator John Barrasso appears to be in good shape to keep his job as the third in charge. His boss, Mitch McConnell, may not be so lucky.
Barrasso is chair of the Senate Republican Conference. Barrasso told Politico, a beltway insider publication, that he supports McConnell.
“You have to stand up and say you’re going to run if you want to run for something like that in the conference,” Barrasso said. “And I have not heard of any challenges in the current leadership.”
Not all GOP senators support McConnell’s reelection as leader. Among them is Josh Hawley of Missouri. Hawley agreed with Barrasso that no one has announced that they will challenge McConnell, but the Missouri senator said new leadership is needed.
On Election Day, 21 Republican-controlled seats were up for election. Democrats only had 14 seats to defend. If Republicans win the Senate races in Georgia and Nevada, Republicans will reclaim the Senate by one seat.
The count in those elections have been delayed.
The one name that has been rumored as a possible challenge to McConnell is Senator Rick Scott of Florida. Scott served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee going into this week’s election. Senator Steve Daines of Montana is expected to replace Scott as chair of the committee, freeing up the Florida senator to challenge McConnell.
