(NewsNation) — Republicans on Tuesday captured the Senate, Decision Desk HQ projects, ending their four-year stretch in the minority.
The GOP’s leadership within the Senate will shift as longtime Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell announced earlier this year that he will step down as minority leader.
A trio of candidates have emerged as a possible successor to McConnell, headed by South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate Republican whip as well as Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso.
The Republican senators running to succeed McConnell as Senate GOP leader have already pledged to work closely with Trump to get his agenda through Congress.
John Thune
John Thune is serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the Senate minority whip, a post he has held since 2021.
Even before McConnell announced he would end the longest leadership tenure in Senate history, Thune, 63, had approached the contest with the same quiet intensity. Thune defines himself by the party’s traditional values and has at times defied Trump’s wishes.
John Cornyn
John Cornyn is serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. He also served on the Texas Supreme Court from 1991 to 1997 and as the attorney general of Texas from 1999 to 2002.
Cornyn spent time last month with Donald Trump in Texas and earlier this month attended a rally with Trump in Reno, Nevada. He also held hard-dollar fundraising events this month with candidates across the country, including former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan, combat veteran Brown in Nevada, and Rep. Jim Banks in Indiana.
John Barrasso
John Barrasso of Wyoming won a third full term on Tuesday. Barrasso has risen to the third-ranking GOP position in the U.S. Senate and is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
He’s an orthopedic surgeon and former state lawmaker from Casper. He was appointed to the Senate in 2007.
Rick Scott
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced in May he would join the race to replace McConnell. He made the same bid in 2022, but McConnell defeated the Florida senator 36-10.
NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ called the race for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat in favor of Scott on Tuesday. Trump multiple police associations endorsed the 71-year-old’s reelection bid.
Scott has held the seat since 2019 and before that, served as Florida’s governor for eight years.
He focused his campaign on finishing the border wall, baseless claims about Democratic efforts to “rig” elections, and cutting taxes.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
