McConnell defeats Scott in last-minute race for Senate GOP leader

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to elect Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as their leader over National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.) who announced his desire to replace McConnell at an acrimonious conference meeting Tuesday.

A majority of GOP senators voted to elect McConnell leader after a motion backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other conservatives to delay the leadership election until after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff failed.  

The final vote was 37-10, with one voting “present.”

Scott’s last-minute challenge to McConnell represented the toughest competition the senior Republican senator has faced for the top leadership...