Florida Senator Rick Scott has officially filed his candidacy to lead the Republicans in the U.S. Senate once he believes that «a big change is needed» after the Democrats managed to maintain control of the upper chamber in the last legislative elections.
«It’s time for new leadership in the Senate that unites Republicans to advance a bold conservative agenda. That’s why I’m running to be the Senate Republican leader,» he announced on his Twitter profile.
In a letter sent to his party colleagues on Tuesday to announce his intentions, Scott has told them that he is «deeply disappointed by the results of the recent elections,» in which Republicans had hoped to get better numbers in the House of Representatives and take the Senate.
Scott, who had been the Republican Senate campaign manager, has defended that «there is no one person responsible» for the party’s poor performance across the country and that he will not be one of the many who are «eager» to pull out the accusatory finger. «It’s unproductive and a big waste of time.»
For his part, current Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is confident he will win the support needed to remain in office Wednesday. «I think the outcome is pretty clear. I want to repeat, I have the votes and I will be elected. The only problem is whether we do it sooner or later,» he remarked.
Scott and McConnell have on several occasions evidenced competing strategic visions for how the party should act. Among them regarding the figure of former President Donald Trump, criticized by the current Senate leader for the January 6 riots in the Capitol.
In that line, McConnell has justified that the poor results in these mid-term elections is due to the «impression» that exists among the more «independent» and «moderate» electorate that the party leadership «is mired in chaos, negativity and excessive attacks».
