Senate Republicans set to pick new leader in first open contest in 18 years

Senate Republicans on Wednesday will elect a new party leader for the first time in nearly two decades.

On the eve of their internal party elections, most GOP senators were still pondering their three choices or holding their picks close to the vest.

The GOP leader candidates — Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida — made final pitches to their colleagues in a candidate forum Tuesday evening, but most senators left declining to say whom they planned to support.

The closed-door, secret-ballot election is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is supporting Mr. Scott, suggested during the candidate forum that the election be delayed but momentum for that did not appear to be on his side. 

“This is grotesque, the way we’re rushing to this,” Mr. Johnson said. “But at least we had this forum, and it was a very good forum, a very good discussion.”

There will be some more opportunity for discussion before ballots are cast on Wednesday if needed. The candidates can each have up to two senators provide nominating speeches, give their own remarks and answer any remaining questions from their colleagues.

To win, a candidate needs support from at least 27 of the 53 returning and newly elected Republicans that will make up the Senate majority next year. If none of the three candidates reach 27 votes on the first ballot, the lowest vote-getter is dropped and the race proceeds to a second ballot.

Outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, the 82-year-old from Kentucky, is stepping down from leadership after 18 years in the top role. Because he is staying in the Senate, he will get to vote on his replacement but has not publicly endorsed anyone in the race.

That’s also the case with the majority of GOP senators who are either keeping their choices private or say they have yet to make a decision. As of Tuesday night, only 12 senators had publicly endorsed a candidate in the race: five for Mr. Scott, four for Mr. Thune and one for Mr. Cornyn.

Most senators say the choice among their three colleagues is a tough one and will come down to relationships and trust that their pick can build coalitions needed to execute the GOP agenda.

President-elect Donald Trump, the leader of that agenda, has not weighed in with a preference, but a lot of his top allies have been pushing for Mr. Scott. With Mr. Trump remaining neutral, the contenders have all talked up their relationships with the former and future president.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, another key player in executing the GOP agenda, declined to endorse a Senate leader candidate. The Louisiana Republican called all three contenders his friends and “favorites,” and said he looks forward to working with whomever wins “beginning immediately.”

Republican senators said the three candidates share similar policy goals and plans for making the legislative process more inclusive of rank-and-file members. 

“There’s very little difference between the three of them in terms of how they view the Congress should be run,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who is backing Mr. Thune, his neighboring state’s senior senator.

“They have different experiences throughout their time here, and different experiences prior to their time here,” he said. “John Thune, for example, was a House member. John Cornyn was a state elected official. And, of course, Rick was a governor and a businessman.”

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who hosted the candidate forum, also acknowledged that few distinctions among the candidates were unearthed during the forum. 

But he said afterward that he decided to endorse Mr. Scott because he has spent the most time and effort advocating for “aggressive reform and an aggressive return to the rules that made this entity something worthy of the title of the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body.”

The three candidates are all touting similar plans in terms of the GOP’s legislative agenda, with key themes surrounding securing the border, curbing federal spending and regulations, restoring American energy and cutting taxes.

They’ve also all promised to confirm Mr. Trump’s nominees expeditiously and said they would entertain recess appointments, as the president-elect said any Senate Republican seeking the “coveted” leader position must. Procedurally, recess appointments are unlikely to be the quickest way for the Senate to confirm nominees, because Democrats could block the chamber from adjourning.

Mr. Thune and Mr. Cornyn, who have both served as deputies to Mr. McConnell in leadership, are touting that experience while offering examples of where they would do things differently.

“I really want to open the Senate up and let our talent shine. We’ve got some incredibly gifted, talented people,” Mr. Thune said on the Fox News rundown podcast. “Politics has always been a team sport to me, and I want to get back to that.”

Mr. Thune also said he wants to empower committees and dedicate “a significant amount of floor time to the appropriations process and have robust opportunities for amendments there.”

Mr. Cornyn said in a “dear colleague” letter sent to Senate Republicans on Tuesday that he wants to maximize GOP voices in the legislative process.

“Our default position for legislation considered on the floor will be an open amendment process managed by the committee chairs to allow for amendments and increase debate,” he said, also promising to “reserve a substantial amount of floor time for appropriations bills.”

Mr. Scott, while avoiding direct attacks on his competitors, says he offers a “change” that he says his colleagues are craving after Mr. McConnell’s regime, which he’s likened to a “dictatorship.” He has touted his business experience as a reason he thinks he can get things done, and has also made promises about opening bills to amendment on the floor and prioritizing appropriations.

“If we don’t have the right leader in the Senate, then what’s going to happen is all the things that Donald Trump wants to do is going to get bogged down, not going to happen,” Mr. Scott said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who endorsed him for leader.

One change Mr. Scott has promised is subjecting the GOP leader to a term limit, like the six-year limit for all other Republican leadership positions.

Wednesday’s leadership election will include ballots for those other posts, but only one other race is contested. Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa are both running for the No. 3 spot of Republican Conference chair.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the current conference chair, is running uncontested for the No. 2 spot of Republican whip, which is currently Mr. Thune’s post.

The other uncontested races are West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito for Republican Policy Committee chair, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford for Republican Conference vice chair and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott for National Republican Senate Committee chair.