Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said in a statement Sunday night that Senate Republicans should not hold leadership elections “until we have digested and debated the lessons of the midterms,” Roll Call reported Monday.
McCormick, a first-term senator, is the newest Republican to join Sen. Ron Johnson’s effort to postpone the vote. The conference is scheduled to elect its leaders Tuesday morning in the Old Senate Chamber, LifeZette reported. McCormick said he had shared his view with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Sunday’s article here reported that Johnson, R-Wis., was circulating a letter calling the midterms “a stunning defeat.” McCormick’s statement widens the push beyond the senators who first signed on.
Republican Senators supporting a delay of the Senate leadership vote: ▪️Sen. Ron Johnson ▪️Sen. Rick Scott ▪️Sen. Mike Lee ▪️Sen. Ted Budd ▪️Sen. John Kennedy ▪️Sen. Dave McCormick ▪️Sen. Jim Banks Call your Senators to postpone the vote: 202-224-3121 (Where is everyone else?)
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) November 9, 2026
Who wants to wait
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., posted on X on Nov. 7: “I have signed Sen. Ron Johnson’s letter to postpone Senate Republican leadership elections next Tuesday.” Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have also backed the letter, Townhall reported. Scott said he will not run for leadership this cycle.
Johnson obtained the five signatures needed under conference rules to request a meeting on postponing the election, Just the News reported. It is not yet clear when that meeting would take place.
Johnson’s case
Johnson has argued on X that history is on his side. “Since 1934, leadership elections have occurred about 40 days after an election,” he wrote. “There’s no reason to rush a leadership election — especially after a defeat.”
He also argues that the conference’s membership is not settled, because the Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi are still uncalled, Roll Call reported. Lee wrote that Senate GOP rules contemplate leadership elections between Jan. 3 and Jan. 10, according to Townhall.
Johnson told the Clay & Buck Show that electing the team by acclamation is “unacceptable.” “Our supporters expected us to drain the swamp, but it seems like the swamp won,” he posted Nov. 7.
Thune’s position
Thune is widely expected to remain the Republican leader, Roll Call reported. A Thune spokesperson confirmed he intends to run for minority leader, and he favors holding the vote right away, LifeZette reported. Sen. John Barrasso is seeking to keep the whip post.
No senator has announced a challenge to Thune or the rest of the leadership team, The New York Sun reported. Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz has questioned whether Thune should stay on, Just the News reported. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has defended Thune and said he should not be blamed for the results.
The bottom line
Republicans lost at least seven Senate seats last Tuesday and will be in the minority in January. Leadership wants the conference to re-elect the same team one week later, before two seats are decided and before anyone has explained what went wrong.
Johnson and McCormick are asking for a conversation before the vote. Johnson’s point about precedent is a strong one: for most of the last 90 years, the conference waited about 40 days. Holding the vote in January, as Lee says the rules contemplate, would let every member who will actually serve in the next Congress have a say.
Thune may well win either way. He would have a stronger mandate if he won after the debate Johnson and McCormick are asking for. The conference should grant the delay.