Chuck Darwin<p>Senators are privately (and publicly) saying they hope Donald Trump <br>💥stays out of the internal election to replace <a href="https://c.im/tags/Mitch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mitch</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/McConnell" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>McConnell</span></a> as Senate GOP leader.</p><p>Why it matters: <br>None of them know — or it's a damn good secret — whether the felon-candidate will make an endorsement. </p><p>But senators and advisors fear a Trump intervention could turn the secret ballot leader election into a public feud.</p><p> "I said, 'Sir, if I was you, I would stay out of the race, because there's no win for you in this,'" Sen. <a href="https://c.im/tags/Markwayne" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Markwayne</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Mullin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mullin</span></a> (R-Okla.) told us about a recent call with Trump.</p><p> "I hope not," said Sen. <a href="https://c.im/tags/Thom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Thom</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Tillis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Tillis</span></a>, when asked if he thinks Trump will weigh in. "I think outside influence could be problematic."</p><p> "He's offered some views on it to me,"Sen. <a href="https://c.im/tags/Josh" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Josh</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Hawley" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hawley</span></a> (R-Mo.) told us. "It's safe to say he has a pretty consistent prediction of who he thinks it'll be." -- Hawley said he did not know if Trump would weigh in.</p><p>Between the lines: <br>This the first real competitive Senate GOP leadership race of the Trump-era, <br>and his endorsement still carries a lot of weight with a segment of the conference.</p><p>McConnell has had a tumultuous relationship with the pussy-grabber.</p><p> The top two candidates <br>— Sens. John <a href="https://c.im/tags/Thune" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Thune</span></a> and John <a href="https://c.im/tags/Cornyn" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cornyn</span></a> <br>— each have had rocky relationships with Trump. <br>However, they have worked to make amends.</p><p>After Jan. 6, Thune denounced Trump and initially endorsed Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) for president. </p><p>Cornyn has said the GOP needed to move on from Trump.</p><p>Senate sources do not talk about Sen. Rick <a href="https://c.im/tags/Scott" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Scott</span></a>'s (R-Fla.) bid as seriously as Thune's or Cornyn's, though he has a good relationship with Trump. <br> "Sen. Scott is focused on dramatically changing the way the Senate operates and creating a member-driven process," according to spokesperson McKinley Lewis.</p><p>Sources often describe Thune as the likely favorite, <br>though they say not to discount how much Cornyn's long history of hard-dollar fundraising for Senate campaigns means to people.</p><p>Cornyn told us it's been a few weeks since he spoke with Trump about the leadership race. </p><p>But he visited Mar-a-Lago a couple months ago "to talk about planning for the future," <br>adding they've been "visiting with some of the transition folks."</p><p>Mullin said Trump "likes" Thune despite their rocky past. </p><p>The Oklahoma Republican has publicly backed Thune.</p><p>Some sources suspect there could be a late entry: <br>NRSC Chair Steve <a href="https://c.im/tags/Daines" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Daines</span></a> (R-Mont.) is the most-floated name.</p><p>The bottom line: <br>There's not a lot of incentive for senators benefiting from both Thune and Cornyn's aggressive fundraising efforts to commit too early.</p><p>"If one of them felt that they really had a majority, I think they would not be shy about saying that, <br>but I don't think anybody does," Hawley said.</p><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/10/03/trump-senate-republicans-mcconnell-thune-cornyn" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">axios.com/2024/10/03/trump-sen</span><span class="invisible">ate-republicans-mcconnell-thune-cornyn</span></a></p>