A number of Republican senators are calling for leadership elections to be postponed after current Leader John Thune (R-SD) called for snap elections next week. Thune had indicated that he is seeking a second term in the role and wants the vote to be held immediately.
A spokesperson for the South Dakota senator confirmed that Thune intends to run for minority leader in the elections scheduled for the following Tuesday. No other Republican senator has publicly announced a challenge to him as of this report, though discontent among the Republican conference has been expressed.
Several Republican senators have called for the leadership elections to be postponed. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has gathered at least five signatures on a letter requesting a meeting of the Senate Republican Conference to discuss delaying the vote. Under conference rules, five or more senators can force such a meeting by submitting a written request.
Senators who have indicated support for the letter include Mike Lee (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL), and John Kennedy (R-LA).
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Our supporters expected us to drain the swamp, but it seems like the swamp won. pic.twitter.com/vnhujxBMKf
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) November 7, 2026
Johnson has argued that the conference should first review the election results. “We need to delay that. We need a robust discussion — I always call them a postmortem — of what happened. You just can’t, ‘Oh, let’s elect this leadership team by acclimation.’ That’s unacceptable,” he said during an appearance on the Clay & Buck Show.
In the letter to Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR), Johnson and colleagues wrote that the election results “was a stunning defeat” for Republicans and called for immediate changes. “We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to what we can do to improve the outcome in 2028,” the senators stated.
“Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice. It is certainly not the way leadership elections should be conducted in the world’s most deliberative body,” the letter continued,
Johnson has proposed that when senators meet as scheduled, they hold a conference discussion and postpone any leadership elections “until we all have a chance to hear from leadership candidates as to what type of collaborative conference governing model we should adopt.”
Senator Lee endorsed Johnson’s approach in a social media post of his own. “We have no business holding Senate Republican leadership elections until: (1) we’ve had ample opportunity to discuss what happened on Tuesday, and (2) we know who’s going to be in our conference,” he said.
Senator Scott chimed in to state that he would also be signing the letter, but does not seek to run for the position himself after rpreviously doing so in 2024. “I don’t want to run again. I’ve run twice. I think we oughta be listeners,” the senator stated.
The leadership elections are currently set for Tuesday morning in the Old Senate Chamber. Republicans lost at least seven Senate seats in the midterms, with a small number of races remaining uncalled at the time of the discussions. Johnson has noted that he is uncertain whether the effort will result in a postponement of the vote.
The conference is also expected to consider other leadership positions, including the role of whip, which Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) is seeking to retain.
