Ted Cruz Announces Endorsing Rick Scott in Senate Leadership Vote, Renouncing John Cornyn

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz plans to vote for fellow right-wing firebrand Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, instead of fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn, as the next Senate majority leader.

“This morning I’m voting for Rick Scott for GOP leader, just like I did two years ago. In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell and I’m proud to be at his side again,” said Cruz posted on social media. “For 12 years, I have been unequivocal in my belief that we must change GOP leadership – and now we finally will.”

Cruz made the announcement less than an hour before Republican senators were set to vote on their next leader to replace longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Cornyn, a longtime ally of McConnell who served as his whip from 2013 to 2019, has long signaled his desire to become the next leader. He is running against Scott, who previously chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and current Republican whip, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, another McConnell acolyte.

The elections will lead to a second round if no one wins a majority in the first round of voting. It is possible for senators to switch their votes between rounds. The vote will be by secret ballot among the elected senators and the current senators who will serve in the next Congress.

Cruz has long battled McConnell, complaining about his tight control of the Senate and his distaste for Cruz’s more bombastic tactics. Cruz has also expressed frustration with McConnell’s unwillingness to back more right-wing candidates in the Republican primaries and his refusal to invest in his expensive re-election campaign against Democrat Colin Allred this year.

Cruz blamed McConnell for Republicans’ failure to take control of the Senate in 2022. That year, Scott challenged McConnell for leader, posing the first ever real challenge to McConnell’s leadership. Cruz voted for Scott at the time.

McConnell announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term as leader of the party, ending his 17-year term. He is the longest-serving party leader in the history of the US Senate. The opening led to the first competitive, open campaign for the Republican leader in decades (in the past, senators made it clear who would win a majority of votes before the election).

Cornyn has courted his colleagues, citing his decades of fundraising for his fellow Republicans, including raising nearly $33 million for Republican candidates and incumbents this election cycle. He campaigned with Cruz, giving him more than $500,000 in what ended up being one of the most expensive Senate races in Texas history.

Cruz and Cornyn have had a complicated relationship due to their contrasting styles and generations within the Republican Party.

Cornyn is a diplomatic veteran of the Senate, serving since 2002 after years of transforming the Texas judiciary for Republicans. He served as a Texas Supreme Court justice and later as Texas attorney general, the first Republican elected to the post since Reconstruction.

Cruz, meanwhile, never held elected office before running for Senate, riding a Tea Party wave to Congress in 2012. He is known for his theatrics and his willingness to criticize his own party for not supporting hardline conservative candidates and policies. He made a national name for himself by filibustering for 21 hours to prevent government funding for the Affordable Care Act — a platform he used to launch a close presidential run in 2016. He was also a fierce defender of former President Donald Trump and objected to certifying the 2020 election results.

Despite their differences, the two senators developed a strong working partnership, passing legislation and promoting conservative judicial appointments to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The two senators also campaigned for each other, with Cornyn advocating for Cruz and donating lavishly in 2018 and 2024, and Cruz rallying the right wing for Cornyn in 2020.

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