Playbook: “There’s probably no group of Republicans more insulated from an outside pressure campaign than the 53 senators and senators-elect who will be voting Wednesday on Mitch McConnell’s replacement.”
“Most of them don’t have to run until 2028 or later. Some won’t run again at all. And, crucially, the vote is by secret ballot, meaning there’s no public accountability for how they vote.
”“”Yes, a small handful of GOP senators went public in support of Scott over the weekend. (It was not unnoticed that two of the more surprising endorsers — Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — are in line for potential Cabinet posts.)
“But the bulk of the Republican rank-and-file is not pleased. At all. We spoke with one senator who was aghast at the effort, as well as a GOP aide who said the campaign is ‘pissing off senators whose votes Rick needs’ to win.”