Republican Senators Hold Leader Candidate Forum Hours Before Consequential Vote Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Republican Senators huddled for over two hours Tuesday night for a family meeting over who will take the reins from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The candidate forum was organized by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to allow all three candidates for Republican Leader to answer questions from their colleagues.

Those candidates, Sens. John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rick Scott (R-FL), each gave opening remarks before being peppered with questions over the immediate and long-term direction of the Senate and the Republican Conference.

None of the three candidates spoke in detail after the forum, but their colleagues gave the forum high marks.

“One of the new members said, ‘This is why I came here, to have this kind of quality discussion,'” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) relayed before lamenting, “They’re not all like this.”

Johnson came out for Scott before the forum.

Several senators discussed the importance of opening up the floor to consider legislation, the need to permit debate on the Senate floor and internally among Republican Senators, and the best leadership strategies and styles to move President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Most senators kept their preferences hidden after the forum.

“I’m very impressed with my colleagues. No white smoke yet,” Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) quipped as he jumped into a Capitol elevator.

But the forum was enough for some senators to make up their minds.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) first told Breitbart News “I’m going to support Rick.” She later detailed her reasoning in an exclusive interview with Breitbart.

“He has such an energy for making certain that we get the Trump agenda passed,” Blackburn said. “I think that’s important that that energy be there and that willingness to aggressively support and pass the Trump agenda.”

Lee, who pushed for the forum, said afterward “We’re at an inflection point in the Senate’s history where we need aggressive reform,” revealing he would support Scott.

“The most aggressive call for reform came from Rick Scott, and that’s something that, to me, is backed up by and consistent with not just his voting record, but positions he’s taken within the conference since long before this race started,” he told reporters.

After Trump’s mandate election, Lee believes all the candidates would need to work to move Trump’s agenda.

“I think Rick is, in the eyes of many, including me, perhaps a little more aligned with the President’s agenda, but, I don’t necessarily see it as something where the other candidates would be deliberately causing friction,” he said.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who is backing his South Dakota delegation member and longtime friend Thune, praised the forum and all three candidates.

“All three of the candidates for this job did a very good job, and there’s a lot less difference between all three of them than what a lot of people might think,” he told reporters. He said the differences boil down to “simply a matter of the styles. Each of them comes from a different background.”

The Senators’ choice carries seismic significance, not just for Trump’s agenda but far beyond. McConnell led Senate Republicans for 18 years, and the next leader could easily hold the post for a decade or more.

Republicans are scheduled to meet and vote by secret ballot Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. EST. With 53 Senators and Senators-elect voting, the winner will need 27 votes, meaning multiple ballots may be required.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

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