2022 Senate Republican Conference leadership election

2022 Senate Republican Conference leadership election

← 2020 November 16, 2022 2024  →

Candidate Mitch McConnell Rick Scott Home state Kentucky Florida Members' vote 37 10 Percentage 78.7% 21.3%

Leader before election Mitch McConnell Elected Leader Mitch McConnell

On November 16, 2022, Republican members of the United States Senate held an election to determine the leader of the Senate Republican Conference. Incumbent leader Mitch McConnell defeated a challenge by Florida senator Rick Scott in a vote by secret ballot. This was the first contested conference leadership election since 1996, and marked a departure from the tradition of unanimously confirming incumbent leaders who chose to run for re-election. Only those who were expected to serve as Republican senators in the 118th Congress were allowed to cast a vote. ^{[1] [2]}

Overview

Republicans failed to produce a predicted red wave during the 2022 United States elections. Some more conservative Republicans blamed this failure on current leadership, like incumbent Senate Republican Conference leader Mitch McConnell. The election marked the first time since 1996 a contested Senate Republican leadership challenge has gone to a vote. ^[3]

Candidates

The following candidates declared their intent to run.

Candidate	State	Other Senate roles	Ref.
Mitch McConnell	Kentucky (Served since 1985)	Leader of the Senate Republican Conference (Since 2007) Republican Senate Whip (2003–2007) Chair of the Senate Rules Committee (1999–2001)	[4]
Rick Scott	Florida (Served since 2019)	Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (Since 2021)	[4]

Endorsements

Rick Scott

Senators

• Josh Hawley, Senator from Missouri (2019–present) ^[5]

Results

Candidate		Votes	Percent
	Mitch McConnell	37	79%
	Rick Scott	10	21%
Write-in		1	N/A
Abstentions		1
Total:		47	100%
Source: [6]

See also

• January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election#Republican nomination

References

1. "'Nothing to negotiate': McConnell crushes Scott's right-flank rebellion".
2. "McConnell reelected as Senate leader despite historic challenge from Scott".
3. Lesniewski, Niels (November 16, 2022). "McConnell prevails in Senate GOP leadership contest". Roll Call. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
4. Treene, Alayna (November 15, 2022). "Rick Scott to challenge Mitch McConnell for Senate GOP leader". Axios. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
5. Desrochers, Daniel (November 15, 2022). "Does Trump still have Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt's support for 2024 run? They won't say". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved November 9, 2024.
6. Davis, Susan; Bustillo, Ximena; Schapitl, Lexie; Swartz, Katherine (November 16, 2022). "McConnell wins leadership race but GOP infighting continues". NPR. Retrieved November 10, 2024.