With hours to go before the Senate Republican leadership vote, Rick Scott secures public endorsements from seven senators

This Wednesday, Senate Republicans will meet to vote for their new leader following veteran Sen. Mitch McConnell's step down, who has held the post since 2006.

So far, the three senators up for the coveted seat are Rick Scott (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Thune (R-SD). To keep their chances intact in the face of a secret ballot, only nine senators have revealed their endorsements.

Senator Scott has secured the most endorsements. He is the favorite of the most conservative and Trumpist wing of the Republican Party, who on Tuesday night received the endorsement of Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

"Senator Rick Scott and I spoke earlier today about how to best ensure conservatives have a stronger voice in the procedural process," Blackburn said. "After these conversations and hearing from all the candidates tonight, I will be supporting Rick Scott for Majority Leader, who is committed to passing President Trump’s agenda."

This is Scott's seventh public endorsement. He is fighting against the tide to pull off an upset and snatch the spot from Cornyn or Thune, who have long been positioned as the successors to his longtime ally McConnell. Both are viewed by the new Republican voter base as unreliable establishment candidates.

As a result, the senators who have publicly endorsed Scott -Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, Bill Hagerty, Marco Rubio, Tommy Tuberville and Blackburn - have played a leading role in this race, putting in check their colleagues who, for now, have not decided on a candidate.

Indeed, reports have surfaced that Republican senators are angry or uncomfortable with public pressure from some activists to pick Scott. Scott has publicly pledged to Trump to accept the out-of-session nomination process and further stated that he will oppose nominations of Democratic judges.

According to The Hill, a senior official for a Republican senator said he has not yet decided who to support but commented that the alleged coercion and pressure tactics have the lawmaker "discouraged."

"It’s the last thing you’d want to do if you were mounting a successful campaign to get your colleagues to vote for you," this official said on condition of anonymity. "He’s shown no penchant for winning friends or influencing positive outcomes."

For the moment, most Republican senators have remained silent on their vote, which could bode well for Cornyn and Thune, who have received only one endorsement each.

Cornyn is backed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Thune by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

In any case, the next few hours are absolutely determinative, and the calls will start flowing through all the halls of Congress, probably with tireless lobbying, promises or return of favors.

To become majority leader, one of the three contenders needs a majority of the votes of the 53 Republican senators. Should none reach the magic number (27), the race will go to a runoff between the two candidates with the most votes.