The man who challenged U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for leadership of the Republican Senate caucus in 2022 sees renewed opportunity now that the Kentucky warhorse has said he's not going to pursue leadership after the 2024 election.
But Rick Scott is not directly saying whether he would run for the top spot in the Senate GOP if re-elected this November.
The Senator from Naples told Florida Politics his thoughts hours after reports came out that 2024 would be McConnell's last year leading Senate Republicans.
"I have been very clear and have long believed that we need new leadership in the Senate that represents our voters and the issues we were sent here to fight for. As everyone knows, I challenged Leader McConnell last year. This is an opportunity to refocus our efforts on solving the significant challenges facing our country and actually reflect the aspirations of voters," Scott said.
He stopped short of saying he would make a second try at leading the caucus, and did not offer any sort of reflections on whether or not his challenge to McConnell, which was heavily criticized at the time, was vindicated retrospectively.
Last Fall, Scott said part of the reason he lost was that the vote was "rushed" to happen shortly after the Midterm Elections, in which the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) he chaired during the 2022 cycle underperformed. Scott's promise to flip the Senate Republican as head of the NRSC went unfulfilled, and the Florida Senator mustered just 10 votes in an ill-fated leadership challenge to McConnell.
"So the next election won't be until it should be, January '25. They rushed it this last time when I ran against him. So that's when the next election should be," Scott said during a call with Florida Republicans.
"He's not suggested he's going to leave. If he decides not to leave, then the next (Senate leadership) election will be after the '24 elections."
Scott then explained Kentucky election law like he's given it some thought.
"My understanding is that under Kentucky law … if he decided to step down as a Senator, now, he could step down as a Republican leader and remain in the Senate. But if you decide to step down as a Senator, then the Legislature gives the Governor three names of people from the same party of the person leaving," Scott said, noting that a Democrat is Governor for the moment.
During an appearance in January 2023 on The Charlie Kirk Show, Scott did not say no when asked about the potential of becoming "Senate leader, through raising money, messaging" and if it was "something (he) was still going to go after in the next year and a half, two years."
"Absolutely. I'm not giving up," Scott said. "Charlie, I'm not giving up."
This time around, if Scott runs, expect him to face a crowded field. Whether that's to his advantage or not remains to be seen.
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