The leadership race for the U.S. Senate’s looming Republican majority kicked into overdrive on Sunday after sources close to the two establishment candidates released a list of commitments showing both leading Rick Scott (R-FL), the MAGA movement’s standard-bearer.
In what may have been a move to build grassroots momentum for Scott’s ascendancy, a Senate source provided conservative reporter Benny Johnson with a whip count showing both Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX) with sizable leads among the three.
Scott, who received the backing of prominent MAGA influencers over the weekend, sits in third place with 11 public commitments; Thune leads with 24 while Cornyn trails in second place with 18.
The secret vote will mean the top finisher has big shoes to fill in Washington, D.C. In March, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he would step down from leadership following the November elections and would not seek to return to the position of Majority Leader when Republicans take control of the upper chamber. The power vacuum now forces Thune and Cornyn, both loyal deputies, to split the establishment vote while Scott tries to run up the middle.
Thune and Cornyn were subjected to a pressure campaign