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Mitch McConnell defeats Rick Scott to continue leading the GOP in the Senate

The Kentucky representative, who has been in office since 2007, garnered 37 votes in favor to Rick Scott's 10.

Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell / Cordon Press.

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

Mitch McConnell, the senator from Kentucky, will continue to lead the Republican Party in the Senate. It was he himself who announced the news on his Twitter profile, in which he took the opportunity to assure that they will "fight Democrats' recklessness".

After a closed-door vote held Wednesday by the GOP, McConnell won reappointment by a vote of 37 to 10, with one abstention. A victory of which he feels "very proud" as he assured at the press conference following his appointment:

Thus, the 80-year-old senator, despite his low popularity among citizens, becomes the longest-serving Senate Republican Party leader in the history of the country.

A comprehensive victory

It is also the first time that the Kentucky representative had a rival to the position he has held since 2007. Rick Scott, a senator from Florida, decided on Tuesday to also run for the position, which he stated in a letter he sent to his colleagues:

The status quo is broken and big change is needed. It’s time for new leadership in the Senate that unites Republicans to advance a bold conservative agenda. I believe it is time for the Senate Republican Conference to be much bolder and more decisive than we have been in the past. We must start saying what we are for, not just what we are against.

Rick Scott Senate Leader Letter by VozMedia on Scribd

For his part, Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, filed a motion to postpone the election of the Republican Senate leader until "after the Georgia runoffs." His intention was to respect the American people and to know exactly "who will be in our conference," he also posted his sentiments on his Twitter profile:

In the end, the motion did not go forward and the vote took place on Wednesday with a result that did not please Cruz very much. During an interview on Fox News, he was against reappointing McConnell as Senate GOP leader: "I think it is insane, it would be nuts for us to have leadership elections now and simply re-elect the exact same leadership."

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