Tipsheet

'Sick and Tired of the Status Quo:' Can Rick Scott Pull Off a Challenge to Mitch McConnell?

Earlier on Tuesday, as Katie covered, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who also chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), made his intentions official to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for his leadership position.

McConnell believes he has the votes, and while that may be true, there's no escaping the fact that people blame the minority leader, at least in part, for Republicans failing to take back control of the Senate. 

CNN's Manu Raju has been covering the Senate battle at length over Twitter. He also spoke with McConnell about charges that he bears some of that blame.

Not all of McConnell's fellow Republicans are buying his argument, though. Sen. Scott has the support of at least one member, Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN). Although Braun was not up for reelection this year and will announce his 2024 intentions in the coming weeks, he still likened himself and his Senate run to Scott in a statement for Townhall.

"I ran for Senate because we need OUTSIDERS to take on the D.C. swamp and get RESULTS. Hoosier conservative Republicans are sick and tired of the status quo. I’m proud to support my friend and fellow conservative outsider Rick Scott for our Leader," Braun said. 

Scott himself, in comments to Raju, had echoed this criticism about McConnell being the "status quo."

Other members have expressed discontent with McConnell, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who is mentioned in Raju's tweet above as well. Last week, he called out "Washington Republicanism" in a series of tweets, and also spoke out against the Republican leader in an interview with RealClearPolitics. More recently, he issued a call for a delay in the vote to see if Herschel Walker, Sen. Raphael Warnock's (D-GA) Republican opponent, emerges victorious in next month's runoff.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have also been vocal in calling for a delay in the vote, highlighting disappointments with the 2022 election results. Rubio's pinned tweet, from Monday, doubles down on such a call.

Senate Republicans will meet at 9:30am on Wednesday. 

On Tuesday evening, Sen. Cruz tweeted out a thread detailing how he will offer a motion to delay the leadership elections. "We owe this to the American people," he tweeted.