Senator John Cornyn lost his election Wednesday to become the next Senate majority leader to Senator John Thune, of South Dakota, ending a years-long effort to lead his party conference.
Senator Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, announced this year that he would not seek another term leading the party, ending his seventeen-year tenure. He is the longest-serving party leader in the history of the U.S. Senate. The opening led to the first competitive, open campaign for GOP leader in decades, the stakes of which were raised after Republicans won control of the upper chamber last week.
Cornyn had spent decades climbing the ranks of the Senate GOP, building relationships and raising money that would be crucial in the vote. But those proved insufficient in wooing a majority of his Republican peers.
He courted his peers by citing his decades of fund-raising for his fellow Republicans, including raising nearly $33 million for Republican candidates and incumbents this election cycle. He is a longtime ally of McConnell who served as his whip from 2013 to 2019. He ran against Senator Rick Scott, of Florida, who previously served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as Thune, the current Republican whip and another McConnell acolyte.
“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House,” Thune said. “This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.”
The secret ballot vote came a few hours after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz broke his silence on the matter to say he was supporting Scott in the leadership race.
“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 posted on social media. “For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will.”
Scott came in last during the first round of voting, launching a second round between Cornyn and Thune. Cornyn appeared to secure some of Scott’s votes during the second round, but it was not enough to win a majority of the conference.
When asked before the vote if he would vote for Cornyn in a runoff between him and Thune, Cruz said he’d make the decision in the room.
Cornyn campaigned with Cruz and gave him more than $500,000 in what was ultimately one of the most expensive Senate races in Texas history.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.
