WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn lost his election Wednesday to become the next Senate majority leader to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, ending a years-long effort to lead his party conference.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term leading the party, ending his 17-year tenure. He is the longest serving party leader in the history of the U.S. Senate. The opening led to the first competitive campaign for GOP leader in decades, the stakes of which were raised after Republicans won control of the upper chamber last week.
Cornyn had spent decades climbing the ranks of the Senate GOP, building relationships and raising money so he could one day succeed McConnell.
In making his pitch, Cornyn cited his decades fundraising for his fellow Republicans, including raising nearly $33 million for Republican candidates and incumbents this election cycle. He has raised over $414 million over his tenure in the Senate.
Cornyn served as McConnell's whip from 2013 to 2019, a job that required him to build personal relationships with each senator to get them on board the party's agenda while giving him a seat in McConnell's inner circle. Cornyn remained close to McConnell after he was term-limited out of his whip post.
Ultimately, Thune, another McConnell acolyte who succeeded Cornyn as the whip, bested Cornyn and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida who previously served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Scott had built momentum among the hard right wing of the party, including vocal online support from the MAGA wing of the party.
"I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House," Thune said in a statement. "This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda, and our work starts today."
Cornyn did not respond to questions in the halls of the Senate after the party vote.
The party vote was conducted by secret ballot among senators-elect and senators who would be serving in the next Congress. Vice President-elect JD Vance also attended as the future president of the Senate but didn't speak during the conference meeting, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said.
Most senators did not say how they would be voting ahead of the meeting. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz broke his silence on the matter less than an hour before the meeting to say that he was supporting Scott in the leadership race.
“This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago. In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again,” Cruz posted on social media. “For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will.”
Scott came in last during the first round of voting, launching a second round between Cornyn and Thune. Cruz declined to answer if he voted for Cornyn in the second round. When asked before the vote if he would vote for Cornyn in a runoff between him and Thune, Cruz said he’d make the decision in the room.
Cornyn campaigned with Cruz and gave him more than $500,000 in what was ultimately one of the most expensive Senate races in Texas history. He also stumped for Cruz during his competitive 2018 reelection against U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, which Cruz won by only 3 percentage points. Cruz also helped Cornyn electorally, rallying the right wing for Cornyn during his 2020 election against Democrat MJ Hegar.
This was not Cruz's first time supporting Scott in a leadership election. He voted for the Floridian and advocated his leadership campaign in 2022 when Scott challenged McConnell in the first ever real challenge to McConnell's leadership. Cruz has for years beefed with McConnell, lamenting his strict control over the upper chamber and his aversion to Cruz’s more bombastic tactics. Cruz has also expressed frustration with McConnell’s unwillingness to back more right-wing candidates in Republican primaries and for refusing to invest in his expensive reelection campaign this year against Democrat Colin Allred.
Cornyn's loss Wednesday was a major setback to his political future. His approval ratings have decreased among Republican voters in Texas since his high days when he was whip. He is polling behind Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton among Republican voters. His work with Democrats and McConnell garnered pushback from the far right wing of party in the state. After he shepherded a bipartisan gun safety bill to passage in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, Cornyn was booed off the stage at the Texas Republican Party convention and censured by the Collin County Republican Party.
Paxton has floated a primary challenge against Cornyn when he is up for reelection in 2026. Cornyn entered a rare, public spat with Paxton, saying on social media: "Hard to run from prison, Ken." The jab was in reference to Paxton's numerous legal troubles over the past several years.
Cornyn has still won reelection every six years by wide margins. He defeated Hegar by 8 points in 2020 and over 27 points in 2014.