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McConnell re-elected Senate GOP leader, defeating challenger Rick Scott [1]

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Date: 2024-03

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was re-elected as Republican leader Wednesday, defeating a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida that reflects growing anxiety within the party after it underperformed in the midterm elections.

McConnell spokesman David Popp confirmed the secret-ballot victory. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., told reporters that 37 Republicans voted for McConnell, while 10 supported Scott and one voted "present." The vote came after the conference rejected a motion by McConnell's dissenters to delay the leadership election, which 16 Republicans voted for, two sources said.

The McConnell-Scott battle represents a larger clash over the direction and governing vision of the party, with the two men offering conflicting theories about why the GOP failed to win Senate seats in the midterms as Democrats clinched the majority. It is the most serious challenge McConnell has faced for his position after having led the Republican caucus for 15 years.

"I believe it’s time for the Senate Republican Conference to be far more bold and resolute than we have been in the past," Scott, who chaired the GOP Senate campaign arm during the 2022 cycle, said in a letter asking for members' votes Tuesday. "We must start saying what we are for, not just what we are against. I do not believe we can simply continue to say the Democrats are radical, which they are. Republican voters expect and deserve to know our plan to promote and advance conservative values."

McConnell offered a different diagnosis of the Republican losses at his Tuesday news conference, attributing them to poor candidates and chaotic behavior within the party, which he said “frightened” independents and moderate voters.

“I don’t own this job,” McConnell said Wednesday after the vote. “Anybody who wants to run for it can feel free to do so. So I’m not in any way offended by having an opponent or having a few votes in opposition. I’m pretty proud of 37 to 10.”

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[1] Url: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-re-elected-senate-gop-leader-defeating-challenge-rick-scott-rcna57487

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