Conservative Republican Bloc Seeks Midterm Autopsy Before Tuesday’s Senate Leadership Election

Some conservative Senate Republicans are looking to delay Tuesday’s closed-door leadership election, citing a midterm election rout that they argue beggars for a closer examination of what went wrong and how to move forward. The request to delay the vote comes even though no other candidate is stepping up to challenge current members of Senate GOP leadership. Senate Republicans are currently on track to lose nine Senate seats this year — Mississippi and Alaska’s races are still outstanding — a result that even the most optimistic Democrat would not have predicted six months ago. Many directed blame at the current majority leader, Senator John Thune, and others for failing to deliver on President Trump’s agenda. Now, several GOP senators say Mr. Thune should sing for his supper rather than simply be anointed. “Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat, and there are multiple reasons for it,” Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin writes in a draft letter he plans to send to the chairman of the Republican Conference, Senator Tom Cotton, on Monday. “Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice.”Mr. Johnson does not give a date on which he would like to hold a leadership election, though he writes that a “fulsome conference discussion” must be held Tuesday morning in order to determine how to move forward. He writes that candidates for leadership should discuss “what type of collaborative conference governing model we should adopt and what our strategy will be to counter the emboldened Democrats.”Mr. Thune said before the election that he would seek another term in his respective position as would every other member of leadership who is not term-limited from serving for another two years. After the midterm election last week, Mr. Thune said he would not sit “idly” under a Democratic majority. So far, four Senate Republicans — Senators Mike Lee, John Kennedy, Dave McCormick and Rick Scott — have backed Mr. Johnson’s call for a delay in the leadership election. The Republican Conference’s rules state that five Republican senators must sign onto a letter to convene a special conference meeting, meaning Mr. Johnson has enough Republican senators on the letter to make the meeting a reality. Mr. Thune is not the only person facing some grousing from fellow members of his party. Minority leader Senator Chuck Schumer has faced calls to step down as leader of the Democratic Caucus from outside of the Senate, though no Democratic lawmakers have said explicitly that Mr. Schumer should be removed from his post. Several senators-elect, including Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine, Julianna Stratton of Illinois, and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota — have called for new leadership, though no one has announced a candidacy for Democratic leader so far. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan has called for Maryland’s senior lawmaker, Senator Chris Van Hollen, to seek the position, though Mr. Van Hollen has declined to do so. Mr. Van Hollen says he is thinking about running for president in 2028 and will make a decision in January. Other candidates for leader who have been floated by activists online include Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, though he is currently running unopposed to serve as the majority whip — the No. 2 spot in the Democratic Caucus. Another choice progressives may opt for is Senator Elizabeth Warren, though she, too, is seeking a position lower on the Democratic leadership ladder. Others have pushed for Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, but Mr. Murphy has declined to run and is also thinking about running for president. Mr. Murphy recently suffered a mild stroke and is currently going through rehabilitation. He is not expected to return to work for several weeks.

Conservative Republican Bloc Seeks Midterm Autopsy Before Tuesday’s Senate Leadership Election

Conservative Republican Bloc Seeks Midterm Autopsy Before Tuesday’s Senate Leadership Election

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