Recent presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has endorsed Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) as “by far the best choice” to succeed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), a reflection of the early support Scott’s leadership bid is picking up among prominent conservatives.
“Rick Scott is *BY FAR* the best choice among those running for Senate Republican Leader,” Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the White House race earlier this year, said in a post on the social platform X. “He successfully led a big business & a big state, there’s no doubt he can do this job.
“He also possesses a very rare quality in DC: caring about what voters actually want. I endorse him,” he said.
Ramaswamy’s hearty endorsement comes as other Senate conservatives are hailing Scott’s entry into the race.
“@SenRickScott’s entry into the Senate GOP leadership race — together with the plan he’s offered regarding how he’d lead the Senate Republican Conference – is more than just a positive development. It’s a game-changer,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X.
Lee is holding back on making an endorsement in the race for now but expressed satisfaction that Scott is pledging to outline “a positive, aspirational agenda” for the Senate GOP conference that would spell out what Republican senators “stand for.”
“This is the first time since I’ve been in the Senate when a colleague running for a GOP conference leadership position has offered a distinct plan to let us know how he’d lead the conference,” Lee posted.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), another prominent Senate conservative, echoed Lee’s excitement over Scott’s leadership bid.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said.
Scott announced his candidacy in a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated Wednesday afternoon in which he pledged to give colleagues more time to review bills before bringing them up for votes and promised never to pressure them to vote in a way contrary to how they campaigned or the interests of their constituents.
He also endorsed a six-year term limit for the next Senate GOP leader.
But Scott’s decision to challenge Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is getting early pushback from McConnell’s allies.
“If this dude gets 10 votes they ought to disband the institution,” Josh Holmes, a senior political adviser to McConnell, posted on X, referring to Scott.
Thune said Thursday that Scott’s decision to jump into the race isn’t a big surprise.
“He’s talked about it. Again, it’s an open race. Anybody who wants to run is entitled to run. As we, all know it’s a small constituency; it’s 49 people,” the South Dakota senator said. “We hope a few more after this next election. But we all have to go out and make our case to our voters, which are our colleagues.”
Asked if Scott has any chance to win, Thune replied: “I suppose everybody has a chance. I’m not going to handicap his chances.”
The news comes after McConnell announced in February his plan to step down from the leadership post at the end of his term.