Posted on 04/13/2023 10:38:15 AM PDT by ConservativeInPA
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has been out of the public eye for weeks, following a serious fall that hospitalized him. Now multiple sources confirm that Senators John Barrasso of North Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota are actively reaching out to fellow Republican senators in efforts to prepare for an anticipated leadership vote — a vote that would occur upon announcement that McConnell would be retiring from his duties as leader, and presumably the Senate itself.
One source says that Cornyn has been particularly active in his preparations, taking fellow senators with whom he has little in common to lunch in attempts to court them.
Requests are being targeted at a plethora of conservative senators, including the sixteen who voted to delay the leadership election earlier this year, a proxy for opposition to McConnell’s leadership. Rick Scott, the Florida senator and former NRSC head who challenged McConnell, ultimately received ten protest votes. These members could prove key to determining the next Republican leader. Queries are also being made internally about the rules regarding replacement, and how the contest would be structured given the lack of an obvious heir apparent.
(Excerpt) Read more at thespectator.com ...
RICK SCOTT!!!!!!
He’s the only one with balls enough to run against Mitch. And he’s very electable, unlike Rand.
Paul is a senator.
Or Ted Cruz.
YESS!
I love those 2!!!
I want Massie.
So Cameron will run against Beshear instead.
I was stationed at Fort Knox when Ditch was elected Jefferson County Executive. He was considered the more liberal candidate.
He and his #CCP wife have been living of of Chinese money for decades.
Good point
KY statewide is red except when the Pubbie candidate manages to REALLY tick off large groups, is extremely poor at defending themselves, or, is proven corrupt.
Matt Bevin kinda combined the 1st 2 categories, Ernie Fletcher fell in to the 3rd.
Righto.
This question about the rules / procedure for a replacement for McConnell has been beat to death (with correct answers) on FR ever since the Turtle’s last fall, and still a large number of FReepers seem to have missed it. :-(
The KY AG, Cameron, is running against Beshear for Governor, so if Beshear thinks Cameron is a serious threat, he might nominate Cameron for Senate, to sideline him. That assuming Beshear doesn’t have an eventual Senate run in mind.
Cameron is handsome, gives a good speech, and seems to have his heart in the right place(s?), but, as AG and / or as a strategist he’s not impressed me so much. Perhaps FReepers from KY can add more. Kelly Craft (former UN ambassador for Trump) is running for Governor too, and has been saying some interesting things, such as “Don’t touch the 2nd Amendment”, and (paraphrasal) “dismantle this woke KY Dept. of Education.”
Tactician that he is, McConnell might try to hold out until the May KY primary, as depending on how that turns out might have an effect on choices for his replacement.
A significant point here:
McConnell did a pretty good job of listening to and acting on local KY issues his office could affect, to the pleasure of his KY constituents. It may not sound like much, for example, but a few years back, TVA wanted to ban fishing in the tailwaters immediately below KY Dam (and maybe others?) IIRC TVA felt it was a safety concern, and having seen it when the flow is strong, I’d agree. But, that’s a prime spot for local anglers, and they raised hell. McConnell stepped in and TVA backed off. Then McConnell used the issue in his campaign ads (”standing up for Kentuckians” or something like that.) It made a good impression for him.
Multiply that by many other instances over the years, across the state, and many big $$ projects “brought home”, and McConnell’s staying power becomes easier to understand...
Cornyn is as much a untrustworthy snake as McConnell. He’d campaign as a Texas conservative when he was up for re-election then showed to everyone that he’s just a snake - a Bushie snake at that. I bet he voted for Hillary in 2016.
Do you suppose McConnell or Swinestein have Patsy Mink disease?
Bashers is a hardcore mini-MARXIST. He is the enemy. Time to keep him in his cage.
Hence my point… the GOP needs to recruit someone to replace him. Won’t happen by accident.
Losers, all.
Exactly
I would “quibble” by opining that a state with a GOP supermajority in both houses is not “purple”. But the GOP can still screw up statewide races, so, yes, agreed, they need to recruit a solid candidate.
In the Governor’s race (primary), Craft is catching up to Cameron fast. She was behind 39%-13% in late Jan., now it’s 30% to 24%, with just over a month to go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.