After a bruising Election Night, some Senate Republicans want to pause and assess what went wrong when lawmakers return to Washington.
Senate Republicans are scheduled to choose their leaders Tuesday morning. John Thune of South Dakota is expected to seek another term as the party’s leader in the chamber.
A small group led by Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is calling for the vote to be postponed. They want time to discuss the party’s losses and decide how to proceed as the Senate’s minority. Democrats won at least 54 seats, with the final count potentially changing depending on races in Mississippi and Alaska.
In a letter to Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Johnson said the vote should wait until lawmakers hear from leadership candidates about how they would work with the conference and respond to Democrats.
“Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat, and there are multiple reasons for it,” Johnson wrote, adding that Republicans need a serious discussion about how to improve their prospects in 2028. Holding leadership elections without examining candidates’ plans, he argued, would be a mistake.
Senate GOP rules allow the vote to be delayed if Johnson gathers five signatures on his letter. He secured support from Rick Scott of Florida, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.
Lee said Republicans should first take time to understand what happened and plan their next steps, adding that moving straight to leadership elections would be premature.
Some Republicans who did not sign the letter also want more time before voting. David McCormick of Pennsylvania and Jim Banks of Indiana have both called for a frank conversation about where the party fell short and what it intends to do for working families.
Republican leaders had already planned to meet before the elections. Thune has support within the conference partly because he is seen as open to lawmakers’ feedback rather than inclined to govern unilaterally, according to a Republican aide.
It remains unclear whether the push to delay the vote will lead to changes in the Senate GOP’s leadership. Some conservative figures outside the chamber have called for Thune to step aside, but he is still expected to run without an opponent and remains popular among Senate Republicans.
Scott, who has run for the post twice, said he did not want to run again. Asked whether he would back Thune, he said he would wait to see who else entered the race.
