Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has formally entered the race to succeed Minority Chief Mitch McConnell (RINO-KY).
The Gateway Pundit beforehand reported that 82-year-old McConnell introduced he can be stepping down as chief of the Senate GOP in November.
“One in all life’s most underappreciated skills is to know when it’s time to maneuver on to life’s subsequent chapter,” McConnell mentioned earlier this yr in a press release obtained by The Associated Press. “So I stand earlier than you at this time … to say that this shall be my final time period as Republican chief of the Senate.”
Senator Scott’s announcement got here through a public put up on X following an preliminary report by The Wall Street Journal. In a candid letter to his colleagues, which was obtained by WSJ Information, Scott articulated a imaginative and prescient for a remodeled Republican management, one which breaks away from the complacency of present Washington politics.
“I consider that our voters need us to make use of this management election to select to upend the established order in Washington,” Scott mentioned in a letter to colleagues. “In the event you additionally consider this to be true and need a chief devoted to that precept, I’d be honored to have the chance to earn your assist.”
In an X put up, Scott wrote, “Our nation is in massive bother. Have a look at the border, the debt, inflation. Washington is damaged. We don’t want minor changes, we’d like a sea change to make Washington work for YOU. That’s what I’m combating for and why I’m operating to be the Senate Republican chief.”
WATCH:
Our nation is in massive bother. Have a look at the border, the debt, inflation. Washington is damaged.
We don’t want minor changes, we’d like a sea change to make Washington work for YOU. That’s what I’m combating for and why I’m operating to be the Senate Republican chief. pic.twitter.com/LiXH1s4qg5
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 23, 2024
Scott’s candidacy poses a major problem to different senators within the race, notably RINO Senators John Cornyn (RINO-TX) and Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) additionally hinted that he could run to succeed McConnell as Senate Republican chief.
This isn’t Senator Scott’s first try at shaking up the GOP hierarchy. In 2022, on the behest of former President Donald Trump, he mounted a challenge in opposition to Minority Chief Mitch McConnell, capturing 10 votes out of 49 within the GOP convention.
“I ran for the Senate as a result of, like every of you, I’ve core beliefs and want to enhance our nation. Whereas I would vote a distinct means than you at occasions, I respect every of you, your votes and your dedication to your respective states,” Scott wrote in 2022.
“I’m writing to you at this time as a result of I consider it’s time for the Senate Republican Convention to be much more daring and resolute than we have now been up to now. We should begin saying what we’re for, not simply what we’re in opposition to. I don’t consider we are able to merely proceed to say the Democrats are radical, which they’re. Republican voters count on and need to know our plan to advertise and advance conservative values. We have to take heed to their requires motion and begin governing in Washington like we marketing campaign again at residence. There’s a Republican Occasion that’s alive and properly in communities throughout America. It’s time there may be one in Washington, D.C., too. That’s the reason I’m operating to be Republican Chief.”