Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing criticism as he nears the end of his tenure for not providing adequate support to battleground-state Republicans using his significant financial resources. Republican senators looking to succeed him are stepping up to fill that gap, pouring major amounts of money into crucial Senate races that the GOP needs to win back the majority next week.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, and Florida Sen. Rick Scott have all declared their candidacies to replace McConnell. Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was also considered a potential candidate but withdrew his name from consideration on Wednesday.
“I’m appreciative of everybody who’s asked me to consider it, but I’m not going to run,” Daines said in an interview. “I’ve told others I’m not running for majority leader, and so it’s firm.” McConnell has faced specific criticism for not withholding financial support from Scott and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, both of whom are up against well-funded Democratic challengers in their red states, the Daily Caller reported.
In the third quarter, Cruz’s opponent, Rep. Collin Allred, raised $30.3 million, while Cruz brought in $21 million. Additionally, a Schumer-backed Democratic PAC made a $5 million ad buy for Allred last week. Despite this financial disparity, Cruz remains slightly ahead in the polls. As for Scott, in Q3 he raised $4.9 million. His opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell raised $15.1 million. In those two tight and important races, Cornyn and Thune have used their campaign funds to help out Cruz and Scott, the outlet reported.
According to a source familiar with Cornyn’s political operation, he has raised nearly $850,000 for Scott and over $715,000 for Cruz’s campaigns combined. Cornyn announced last month that he has raised more than $400 million for his colleagues, candidates, the NRSC, and his own reelection efforts since 2002. The source also mentioned that Cornyn was a special guest on a Zoom call for Cruz’s super PAC last week. “Outside entities affiliated with Thune have transferred $1.75 million to Cruz-affiliated entities and $500K to Scott-affiliated entities,” a Thune source familiar with the situation told the Caller.
McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, having been in office since 1984. According to RealClearPolitics, he is considered the most disliked political leader among Americans, with favorability ratings lower than those of President Joe Biden. Despite this, his hold on power within the GOP has remained firm for years.
“If President Trump wins re-election, it will be crucial for him to have a good working relationship with members of Congress — especially leadership. It is absurd to argue that his opinion of who those leaders should be is irrelevant. That argument can only be made by people who fear the type of change agent Trump might endorse,” Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told the Daily Caller.
