Barrasso is choosing to be No. 2 in the GOP Leadership Shake-Up in the Senate
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, one of the potential top candidates to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as Republican leader in the Senate, has instead decided to seek the No. 2 position.
Mr. Barrasso, currently the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, told his colleagues Tuesday that he was running for what is officially known as assistant Republican leader but informally called the whip. The spot is being vacated by Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who declared this week that he would seek the top job following the decision of Mr. McConnell, the party’s longtime leader from Kentucky, to resign at the end of the year.
In a letter to fellow Republicans in the Senate, Mr. Barrasso suggested he would offer a more aggressive leadership style, saying he hoped his performance in leadership positions in recent years had shown he could deliver.
“One thing that is clear to me is that Senate Republicans need to break from where we are,” he wrote. “We need change. We must stand up and aggressively fight for our Republican priorities. We cannot afford missed opportunities.”
His announcement came a day after Mr. Thune, who had already made clear his intention to succeed Mr. McConnell, told media in his home state that he was definitely a candidate for the top spot.
“For me, it’s really about trying to be a difference maker,” Mr. Thune said Dakota news now in a report published Monday. “I think I can contribute something to that. I believe we are ready for a new generation of consistent, principled, conservative leadership for Republicans in the United States Senate that will empower our individual members.”
The South Dakota senator faces Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who previously held the No. 2 job before being pushed out of the party over term limits, and who declared almost immediately after Mr. McConnell’s announcement last week that he would run for Republican leader. Mr. Cornyn also pledged to lead a more inclusive leadership operation after so much power was centralized under Mr. McConnell during his record-breaking run as leader.
“We will improve communication, increase transparency and ensure that every member’s expertise and views are included,” Mr Cornyn said.
With a shakeup in the leadership ranks underway, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, has been informing colleagues since last week that he plans to run for the third position as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the position now being held by Mr. Barrasso.
The election to replace Mr McConnell and choose other members of the leadership will take place some time after the November election and will include newly elected senators, although some have called for Mr McConnell to resign early to spare his party an opportunity . intramural fight.
The amount of time before the race means that others can participate in the race. Some Republican senators on the right have encouraged Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to jump in, and Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, who oversees campaign efforts for Senate Republicans, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.