Nearly all Republican senators bow out of 2024 race, while governors gear up

Ryan King

February 26, 03:48 PM February 26, 03:48 PM

As the 2024 race heats up, Republican senators have kept a wide berth from the presidential arena.

Despite the Senate being packed with ambitious, big-name politicians, Republicans in the upper chamber have been hesitant about going toe-to-toe with former President Donald Trump in a marked departure from past elections. Meanwhile, hoards of Republican governors are gearing up for a potential run.

MANCHIN SIDESTEPS QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER HE WILL RUN FOR SENATE IN 2024

Back in the 2016 cycle, at least five of the 17 major Republicans served in the Senate at one point, including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Rick Santorum (R-PA), who is no longer a senator.

This time, however, virtually all of the top Republican senators have declined to run and have actively refrained from cultivating buzz about them running.

Multiple prominent Republicans, such as Cruz, Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Rick Scott (R-FL), are up for reelection in the Senate. The trio has maintained that they will stick to running for reelection rather than enter the 2024 presidential lions' den.

Some of those three, particularly Cruz, maintained an active profile in the 2022 election cycle, crisscrossing the country or headlining fundraisers on behalf of Republicans in the midterm elections.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), the 2012 Republican nominee who is also up for reelection and has been an unabashed critic of Trump, has been clear he has no intentions of running either. He also has not committed to vying for a second term in the upper chamber.

Even prominent Republicans who aren't up for reelection in the 2024 cycle, such as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Rubio, and Paul, have seemingly passed on a 2024 stint.

Perhaps the one major exception is Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who has embarked on a "Faith in America" listening tour that featured sessions in South Carolina and Iowa as he eyes an entrance into the 2024 fray.

This is a stark departure from most election cycles since 2000, in which Senators played a pronounced role in presidential primaries. Instead of Senators, the 2024 Republican season is shaping up to be rife with governors.

Trump's first major GOP primary challenge was former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. His top speculated foe is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Meanwhile, a bevy of current and former Republican governors, such as Chris Sununu (NH), Chris Christie (NJ), Asa Hutchinson (AK), Larry Hogan (MD), Glenn Youngkin (VA), and Kristie Noem (SD), are eyeing the 2024 field.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is mulling a run, also previously served as governor of Indiana.

Trump and DeSantis consistently dominate the polling of the 2024 GOP field, with no other candidates clinching double-digits, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

Rick Scott revolts against McConnell over spending bill as Dec. 16 shutdown looms

Cami Mondeaux

November 30, 05:10 PM November 30, 05:10 PM

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is leading a coalition of Republican senators in opposing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s agreement to pass an omnibus funding bill that is necessary to avert a government shutdown before the Dec. 16 deadline.

In a letter addressed to McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday, a group of Republican senators led by Scott vowed to reject a government spending bill until the party takes control of the lower chamber in January. Instead, the Republicans are seeking to pass another continuing resolution that would temporarily delay the budget deadline by keeping spending levels flat.

RICK SCOTT SLAMS MCCONNELL AND GOP LEADERSHIP FOR ‘COMPROMISING OUR PRINCIPLES’

“We believe it would be both imprudent, and a reflection of poor leadership, for Republicans to ignore the will of the American people and rubber stamp an omnibus spending bill that funds ten more months of President Biden’s agenda without any check on his reckless policies that have led to a 40-year high in inflation,” the group wrote in the letter.

"Since taking office, President Biden has overseen a $4.8 trillion increase in the national deficit, costing the average American household an estimated $753 more a month. It should be up to the new Congress to set spending priorities for the remainder of this fiscal year," they said.

The letter was signed by three other Republican senators, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Mike Braun (R-IN).

Right now, the government is funded through Dec. 16 thanks to a continuing resolution passed in September, after which the government will be forced to shut down if officials don’t reach an agreement on a budget for the next fiscal year. Lawmakers could alternatively pass another continuing resolution, giving Republicans more power over the budget once they take the House majority next year.

“We must not accept anything other than a short-term Continuing Resolution that funds the federal government until shortly after the 118th Congress is sworn in,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “No additional spending, no additional policy priorities should be included. Any urgent items that require the Senate’s attention should be considered separately and under their own terms.”

The letter comes one day after President Joe Biden met with top congressional leaders to discuss passing an omnibus spending bill, which would combine multiple agency budget bills into one and attach various lawmaker priorities.

McConnell has indicated he would support an omnibus bill, citing “widespread agreement” that it would be a better option than passing another stopgap bill.

“If you were interested in reducing spending, probably the best way to do that would be a one-year CR. If, on the other hand, you're concerned about the defense of our country and the funding of the Ukraine war, you are somewhat hesitant to go in that direction,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday. “I have members in a variety of different positions on this.”

“I think the way forward is to continue to discuss it and to see what's in the best interests of the country, see how many people we can bring together on both sides of the aisle, and figure out how to finish up this year, sometime before Christmas,” he added.

The letter of opposition is Scott’s latest break from McConnell just two weeks after he challenged the Kentucky Republican for his top leadership position, marking the first contested race for a Senate leader for either party since 1996. McConnell fended off the challenge in a 37-10 vote, with one senator voting present.

However, Scott said his failed leadership bid wouldn’t stop him from trying to reform the Republican Party, declaring that an insurgent crop of senators was already ascendant.

“The old Washington establishment Republican path of never having a vision is over. It’s dying,” Scott wrote in an exclusive op-ed for the Washington Examiner. “A new wave of bold and aggressive Republicans who will stand up and fight is demanding change from our leaders in Washington. It is happening. It will happen. Count on it.”

Rick Scott slams McConnell and GOP leadership for 'compromising our principles'

Cami Mondeaux

November 29, 06:00 AM November 29, 06:55 AM

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) defended his decision to release a 12-point midterm agenda earlier this year and promised his leadership challenge to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is just the beginning of what's to come after the two sparred over election strategy.

In an exclusive op-ed shared with the Washington Examiner, Scott explained why he released his widely panned “Save America” plan in late February, a move that raised eyebrows as he broke with McConnell and other Republican leaders who declined to release a blueprint for how they would govern if they retook the majority on Nov. 8.

RICK SCOTT: WASHINGTON LIARS WILL NOT STOP US FROM RESCUING AMERICA

“Yes, I put out a plan of ideas, and I don’t regret it one bit,” Scott wrote. “Washington has spent decades exploding the size of our government and wasting money, and it must be stopped.”

Scott’s 31-page agenda seeks to combine traditional GOP values with more recent positions championed on the Right, such as finishing the border wall and banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

The plan is meant to serve as an aspirational message from the Republican Party — something he says GOP lawmakers have failed to present as an alternative to “Joe Biden’s radical, socialist agenda.”

“For today’s Democrats, words no longer have meaning. … When they are talking, they are lying. For Biden and his party, falsehood is standard policy, it’s what they do,” Scott wrote. “That is the current strategy of many Republicans in Washington, to only be against the crazy Democrats and never outline any plans of what we are for or what we will do.”

Scott said that strategy led him to mount a leadership bid against McConnell earlier this month.

“I ran for Senate leader because the current plan of routinely caving in and allowing Schumer and Biden to win must stop and because we must become a party with a plan to rescue America,” he wrote. “My effort to change the way the Senate operates is not over. In fact, it is just beginning. We can no longer be merely a speed bump on the road to socialism.”

Scott challenged McConnell for his position as Senate minority leader, marking the first contested race for a Senate leader for either party since 1996. McConnell fended off the challenge in a 37-10 vote, with one senator voting present.

However, Scott said his failed leadership bid wouldn’t stop him from trying to reform the Republican Party, declaring that an insurgent crop of senators was already ascendant.

“The old Washington establishment Republican path of never having a vision is over. It’s dying,” Scott said. “A new wave of bold and aggressive Republicans who will stand up and fight is demanding change from our leaders in Washington. It is happening. It will happen. Count on it.”

Critics question McConnell's management as GOP's Senate prospective customers dim

Kate Scanlon

September 14, 02:39 PM September 14, 02:39 PM

With just weeks to go ahead of the midterm elections, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) detractors are criticizing his management as shifting forecasts counsel the occasion will have a additional challenging time winning a vast majority in the upper chamber than earlier envisioned.

ELISE STEFANIK ANNOUNCES BID FOR 2nd Term AS House GOP Conference CHAIRWOMAN

Republicans nationally are campaigning on inflation, gasoline charges, and other "kitchen area table" troubles that the GOP anticipated to buoy them to electricity on a red wave in November. But next the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Business and the FBI's seizure of evidently categorized documents at the Mar-a-Lago estate of previous President Donald Trump, Republicans are navigating a political local weather in which abortion and the ex-president are factoring into elections in methods bigger than earlier anticipated.

Mixed with a spate of current legislative wins for Democrats and considerations around the power of GOP candidates in key Senate races, election analysts give Democrats superior than even odds of trying to keep their Senate majority in November.

The Senate Management Fund, a McConnell-aligned tremendous PAC, has committed tens of tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the party's Senate nominees in the midterm homestretch, and McConnell himself has held fundraisers for Dr. Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker, and other GOP Senate candidates competing in tight races.

But the minority leader's choice not to release a governing agenda should really Republicans gain back the the greater part in November, as properly as feedback he designed final thirty day period about GOP "candidate good quality" that some conservatives viewed as disparaging, have critics warning that McConnell's actions are undermining the Republican Party's midterm election chances.

The public confront of this criticism has been Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the head of the Senate GOP's marketing campaign arm. Although he hasn't stated McConnell by name, Scott has publicly, and consistently, railed in opposition to individuals "trash-speaking our Republican candidates." The reference, released in a Washington Examiner op-ed earlier this thirty day period, was greatly interpreted as a knock on McConnell, who has downplayed the prospect of a Republican Senate bulk.

One particular conservative strategist and former Senate aide advised the Washington Examiner that in location anticipations small and criticizing candidates, McConnell sent a message that “these candidates are not really worth battling for."

“For someone who's regarded a political genius, someway, McConnell has painted himself into a corner wherever he only seems smart if Republicans get rid of. He has mainly staked out a placement that we have terrible candidates, we are not subsequent the right tactic, and I never assume to retake the Senate,” the strategist said.

Scott's feud with McConnell has to do with campaign messaging a lot more broadly and extends back again to February, when Scott launched an 11-stage blueprint laying out a governing agenda should really Republicans get back again the Senate. McConnell, who declined to release an agenda forward of the midterm elections, publicly rebuked Scott for the strategy, which garnered controversy for proposing that half of the state spend more in revenue taxes.

The solution by McConnell contrasts with that of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who programs to unveil his "Commitment to The usa" in a speech up coming week in Pennsylvania that will lay out the priorities of a opportunity GOP Household in 2023.

Reminiscent of the party's 1994 "Agreement with America," Property management lists the economic climate and public security amongst its focuses and promises to be a check on the Biden administration following 12 months.

GOP leaders hope this will be ample to blunt Democratic messaging as the bash strategies on a collection of wins in Congress, chief between them a reconciliation monthly bill that incorporated drug pricing reforms and significant clean up electrical power paying out.

Whilst the Republican Social gathering will have a tough time profitable back the Senate, it is continue to expected to reclaim a Home greater part in the tumble.

Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist who has been an adviser to McConnell, disputed the criticisms of the minority leader, telling the Washington Examiner that even though he sees the House as “a mortal lock” for Republicans, “clear-eyed strategists” predicted a more difficult Senate map in competitive purple states all together.

“The Senate map is what we imagined it would be,” Jennings mentioned. “It's a bunch of near races.”

Questioned about Democrats’ the latest legislative victories, Jennings argued Democrats are “mistaking movement for development,” pointing to divisions inside the bash on some measures, such as Biden’s college student mortgage forgiveness.

Jennings said inflation remains a prime-of-mind issue for voters and there is “no ambiguity” about the perform McConnell has performed to boost Republican Senate candidates in messaging and fundraising.

“He regularly makes some of the greatest arguments towards the Democrat system in his Senate speeches,” Jennings additional.