Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close Trump ally, joins race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that he will run for Senate Republican leader when Mitch McConnell steps down from the post, becoming the third Republican in the race.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn have already announced they are running. McConnell said in February that he would step down from the post after November’s election but stay in the Senate.

Scott is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and is likely to win votes from some of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate. Scott was one of the first GOP lawmakers to attend Trump’s hush money trial in New York, accompanying the former president into the courtroom earlier this month and defending him on television afterward.

Announcing his run on Fox News, Scott called himself a “change agent” and said he’d spoken with Trump earlier in the day.

“He said he’s excited I’m getting into the race,” Scott said.

The Florida senator’s close ties to the former president could be an advantage, especially if Trump defeats Joe Biden in the presidential election. But Thune and Cornyn have endorsed Trump as well, after criticizing him in the past over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

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