Comment A group of Senate Republicans on Friday called for the GOP leadership election to be delayed after the party’s abysmal showing in the midterm elections, a move that poses a direct challenge to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Four senators — Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Mike Lee of Utah — asked to delay the vote, scheduled for Wednesday, in which McConnell was expected to be re-elected. in a secret ballot. Hawley suggested waiting until the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia, weeks behind schedule. “Conducting a leadership election without hearing from the candidates about how they will carry out their leadership duties and before we know whether we will be in the majority or even who all of our members are violates the most basic tenets of a democratic process,” Scott, president of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Lee wrote in a letter released to their GOP colleagues, according to Politico. Rubio tweeted Friday that the caucus needs someone “truly committed” to “fighting for the priorities and values of working Americans (of every background) that gave us big wins in states like #Florida.” Hawley quickly endorsed the idea, tweeting, “I don’t know why the Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is over.” Ballots are still being counted in Arizona and Nevada except for the Georgia runoff. Reps for McConnell and Scott declined to comment. Email and phone messages for Lee were not immediately returned. The revolt represents the most serious challenge to McConnell’s long leadership tenure and comes after Republicans spent millions of dollars to lose Senate races in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, along with bailing out GOP candidates in Republican-leaning states like Ohio . The Senate Leadership Fund PAC, closely associated with McConnell, spent more than $230 million this cycle supporting Republicans in races across the country. But the GOP faces the distinct prospect that it may not regain the majority despite high campaign hopes based on President Biden’s unpopularity, record inflation and traditional losses for the party in power. As of Friday, Democrats were increasingly optimistic about holding on to their seats in Arizona and Nevada — two states that are still counting votes — that would give them a majority. How Trump, infighting and flawed candidates limited Republican gains The fallout for the GOP’s dismal performance extended to the House, where Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who hopes to vie for the speakership if the GOP wins the chamber, has faced growing opposition. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted Friday that McCarthy is “not a speaker for these times.” The tweet is a sign of Gaetz’s fierce opposition to McCarthy as it becomes clear that if Republicans take control of the House it will be by a narrow margin. That means McCarthy can’t afford to lose many votes from his colleagues. Gaetz, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, has previously told reporters that McCarthy was not his first choice. Among other troubling signs about McCarthy, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said McCarthy has “done nothing to earn” the speakership, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) said “no one has at this time 218′. votes — the number needed to win the speech in the full house. Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.C.) declined to say whether they would support McCarthy. The Washington Post polling model shows Republicans winning 220 seats, far fewer than the dozens expected by some in the GOP. In his tweet, Gaetz cited several perceived shortcomings with McCarthy, including that he told other GOP leaders that Trump should resign immediately after the attack on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. “Kevin is FLIGHT over FIGHT when the chips are down,” Gaetz said. In the Senate, McConnell faced criticism from some Republicans in August when he downplayed the party’s chances of winning control, citing the “quality of the candidate.” Trump has also repeatedly taunted and criticized McConnell while pushing Republicans to oust the GOP leader. McConnell acknowledged Biden’s victory in December 2020, angering Trump, and then blamed the former president for the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill. The leadership election was set for Wednesday, and so far no senator has officially announced they will run against McConnell. Votes for the Republican Senate leadership are held behind closed doors and by secret ballot. McConnell would only need a simple majority to win and has indicated he has the votes he needs. If he does win, McConnell will surpass Mike Mansfield’s record for the longest term as a party leader in the Senate. A Rubio adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about internal caucus dynamics, said Republicans are “disappointed” by their weak midterm performance after they had hoped to win a decisive majority on Tuesday . Rubio, who won his Florida race by a wide margin, wants Senate Republicans to understand “what happened in the world” before electing their next leaders, the person said. The Rubio adviser did not rule out Rubio himself seeking a leadership position, but said the senator’s focus was on getting Republicans to focus on their policy priorities before deciding who will lead them. In their letter, Scott and Lee also wrote, “We are all disappointed that a Red Wave failed to materialize and there are many reasons why it didn’t happen,” according to Politico. “We need to have serious discussions in our conference about why and what we can do to improve our chances in 2024.” In an interview published Friday, Hawley told RealClearPolitics, “I’m not going to support the current leadership of the party,” citing gun control and climate change legislation. “We surrendered when we had to fight.” John Wagner contributed to this report.
