Mitch McConnell re-elected as Senate GOP leader

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has been re-elected as the GOP Senate leader after fending off a challenge from Florida Senator Rick Scott.

McConnell, 80, has been leader of the senate since 2007, as both a majority and minority leader, making him the caucus’s longest-serving leader. 

The longest-serving Senate leader is currently held by Democrat Mike Mansfield of Montana, who was in the position for 16 years. McConnell will soon break that record.

“I don’t own this job,” McConnell after being reelected. “Anybody who wants to run for it can feel free to do so. So I’m not in any way offended by having an opponent or having a few votes in opposition. I’m pretty proud of 37 to 10.”

The night before the midterms, former President Donald Trump told his supporters at a rally that Scott he believed Scott should step in an replace McConnell.

Scott, 69, had formally announced his bid to challenge McConnell this week, however he fell short of the required votes.

“I believe it’s time for the Senate Republican Conference to be far more bold and resolute than we have been in the past,” Scott said in his bid asking for his fellow Republicans to side with him.

He added, “We must start saying what we are for, not just what we are against. I do not believe we can simply continue to say the Democrats are radical, which they are. Republican voters expect and deserve to know our plan to promote and advance conservative values.”