On Wednesday morning, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a prominent conservative, reportedly declared his support for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for the position of Senate majority leader.
Cruz’s endorsement is a setback for his fellow Texas Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, who is also vying to become the next majority leader.
Senate GOP Whip John Thune (S.D.) is the third candidate in the election.
“This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago. In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again,” Cruz announced on his X account.
This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago. In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again.
For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 13, 2024
The addition of Cruz’s endorsement to Scott’s list of public endorsements from the Senate GOP conference brings the total to eight senators, surpassing that of either of his two opponents.
Senator. Scott has also received endorsements from Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
In recent days, Scott gained momentum when several prominent MAGA-allied celebrities, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., endorsed his bid to become Senate majority leader.
Scott challenged the outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) for the top leadership position following the 2022 election, but he was defeated by a significant margin, 36-10.
[UPDATE: The Senate Voted on Wednesday to officially make Senator John Thune the new majority leader.]
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