A group of Republican senators is pressing to delay the party's leadership elections, scheduled for Tuesday morning, 10 November, arguing that the Senate Republican conference should first examine its midterm election losses before choosing who will lead it into the next Congress.

The push is led by Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has gathered the five signatures required under conference rules to force a meeting on postponing the vote. The letter, addressed to Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton, was also signed by Senators Ted Budd of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and John Kennedy of Louisiana.

Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania joined the effort publicly on Sunday evening, and Senator Jim Banks of Indiana has also backed a delay. The leadership elections are scheduled to take place by secret ballot on Tuesday morning in the Old Senate Chamber.

What the senators are asking for

Johnson's letter describes the midterm result as a stunning defeat and argues that electing leaders without first hearing how the candidates plan to lead would amount to political malpractice. The senators want a conference discussion of what went wrong in the elections, and of the party's direction, before a vote is held.

McCormick said he had raised his concerns directly with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. "I don't believe we should move to leadership elections until we have digested and debated the lessons of the midterms and how to move forward," he wrote, adding that Tuesday was too soon for a vote.

The five signatures are enough to require a meeting under the conference rules, but they do not automatically postpone Tuesday's election. The conference itself would still have to decide whether to change the schedule, and as of Monday the vote remained scheduled to proceed.

Thune faces no challenger so far

Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, has led the Senate Republican Conference since January 2025 and is seeking another term, this time as minority leader after Democrats won control of the chamber in the 3 November midterm elections. The new Congress begins in January 2027.

No Republican has publicly announced a challenge to Thune, and he is widely expected to retain the leadership post if the vote goes ahead. Neither Johnson nor McCormick has called for Thune to step down, and Scott has said he does not intend to run for the leadership if the vote proceeds as scheduled.

The dispute comes after months of tension between President Donald Trump and Thune over the Senate's handling of the administration's legislative priorities, including the SAVE America Act and the question of eliminating the filibuster. Asked on Friday whether Thune should continue leading Senate Republicans, Trump declined to take a position, saying the decision rests with Republican senators.

What happens next

Republican senators are due to meet on Tuesday morning, when Johnson and his allies will have the chance to argue for postponing the leadership contest. If the conference votes to proceed, Thune is expected to be re-elected without opposition. If it votes to delay, the party will first hold the wider discussion of its midterm defeat that the rebels have demanded, with no new date yet set for the leadership vote.