Rick Scott gains new Senate endorsements out of candidate forum on eve of leader election

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., earned two more endorsements following what Republican senators described as a wide-ranging discussion with the three candidates to succeed outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

According to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who held the leader candidate forum, the issues that Scott, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, were asked about included those that were procedural, substantive and policy-related — such as the debt deficit and illegal immigration.

The senators were also prompted on how closely they would work with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Lee, who endorsed Scott before even exiting the meeting, said that the Florida senator is “a little more aligned with the president’s agenda.”

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Scott has received an influx of public endorsements. (Alex Wong)

And while he doesn’t think Thune or Cornyn would “deliberately” seek to cause friction with Trump, he noted that “past can be prologue in some ways.”

Lee’s comment was presumably in reference to Thune’s once-fractured relationship with Trump, which he has since worked to repair. 

Thune left the forum expressing satisfaction with the discussion, telling reporters there were “lots of good questions.” When asked if he had a sense of the level of support behind him, the South Dakota Republican said, “you never know until the voters vote.”

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Senators John Cornyn, John Thune and Rick Scott are being speculated as contenders in the race to succeed Mitch McConnell as leader. (Getty Images)

Scott also notched the backing of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., directly following the forum. She endorsed him after asking the senators multiple questions, including “how they would give conservatives a more meaningful voice in the Senate and for specific details as to how they would immediately implement President Trump’s mass deportation operation,” a source familiar told Fox News Digital. 

Another Scott-endorser, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who was the first to back him last week, was particularly pleased with the meeting. “Regardless of the outcome, I think just that meeting alone is going to forge a better leader — whoever the conference likes,” he told reporters. 

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U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL (L) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) wait to speak to reporters following the Senate weekly policy luncheons at the U.S. Capitol on December 6, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

He further claimed one of the newly elected incoming senators was so impressed by the meeting that they said, “This is why I came here to have this kind of quality discussion.”

But not everyone was impressed by the Florida Republican. “Scott’s remarks didn’t do much to impress or sway members,” one source with knowledge told Fox News Digital. “He focused more on his time as a businessman instead of priorities for the Senate.”

A Thune endorser, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Fox News’ Chad Pergram that he thought “there’s a possibility” that someone could reach a majority of 27 votes on the first secret ballot. 

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Cornyn has emphasized his fundraising as he looks to succeed heavyweight fundraiser McConnell. (Reuters)

Mullin also claimed Trump “could come in at the hour of the election.” The president-elect is slated to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the same day as the leader election, to meet with GOP lawmakers.  

Scott is publicly endorsed by additional Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Cornyn is supported by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Thune has the backing of Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and John Hoeven, R-N.D.

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Many senators have not said who they will be voting for. 

The elections begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.