Sen. Rick Scott enters race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP Senate leader

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced Wednesday that he is jumping into the race to succeed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell after he leaves the post later this year.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Scott’s plans, which he later shared publicly in a post on X.

He said in a letter to colleagues obtained by NBC News that his bid to become Republican leader stemmed from a belief that "now is a moment we need dramatic change.”

"I believe that our voters want us to use this leadership election to make a choice to upend the status quo in Washington," Scott wrote.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the former Miami-area congresswoman and leading Democrat vying to unseat Scott in November, quickly criticized Scott’s bid for Senate leadership in a statement that said he would be “self-serving” and “a disaster for Americans” if he became Senate leader.

Scott joins a competitive race to take the helm from McConnell, who will have served a record 18 years in the position when he steps down following the election of his successor. Other contenders for the role include Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the former whip. Other candidates could still make bids for the post since a vote won’t happen until after the November election.

Scott previously challenged McConnell with a run for Republican leader in 2022 but was defeated when Senate Republicans re-elected McConnell to the post.

Scott, a former two-term Florida governor, was elected to the Senate in 2018. He also chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2022 cycle, which fell short of the party's hopes when Republicans failed to net the one seat it needed to gain control of the upper chamber. He was succeeded by