The Republican Senate leadership vacuum created by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s planned retirement at the end of the year has sparked a fundraising frenzy among the three senators vying for the top spot: Minority Whip John Thune, Sen. John Cornyn, and Sen. Rick Scott.
As the party’s longest-serving leader steps down, Thune and Cornyn, both longtime allies of McConnell, are leveraging their fundraising prowess to support their colleagues and bolster their own bids for the leadership post. The two senators have collectively raised over $40 million for the party and its candidates this cycle, according to sources.
Cornyn has been particularly active, raising nearly $23 million as of the end of June through his joint fundraising committee and direct contributions to individual candidates and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). He has also been crisscrossing the country, attending fundraisers for key Senate candidates, including a recent event for the Trump-Vance campaign in Texas and another for Republican nominee Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania.
Thune, meanwhile, has raised over $20 million for Republicans and has maintained a grueling travel schedule, headlining over 170 events for candidates and the NRSC across more than a dozen states. His stops have included key battlegrounds like Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
While Scott is focused on his own moderately competitive reelection bid in Florida, he has still managed to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, the NRSC, and other GOP groups. He has also supported competitive races in Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Virginia, as well as a blue-leaning contest in Virginia.
The leadership contest, which won’t be decided until after the elections, could be influenced by the outcome of key Senate races. Thune and Cornyn are currently considered the front-runners, but a sweep of new senators could alter the calculus of the race.
