Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick, a West Point graduate, Army combat veteran, and successful businessman, has publicly refused to support Tuesday’s scheduled Senate Republican leadership elections that would rubber-stamp John Thune’s continued role as leader of what’s left of the GOP conference.
McCormick made clear that Republicans should not rush into another leadership election without first examining what went wrong, accepting responsibility, and determining how to regain the trust of American voters.
In a statement released Sunday, McCormick wrote:
“One of the things I learned in business and the Army is that after a failure, you have to start with honesty, transparency, and accountability. A week ago, we had the worst election results in decades. We need a discussion about what went wrong, how we fix it, what we stand for, and how our agenda must focus on the concerns of the American people.
As l’ve shared with Leader 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. We need leadership in place fast, but Tuesday is too soon. I know it’s been the practice to go straight to leadership elections in recent years, but we should not rush it.”
https://t.co/h3bEe3TzBl
— Senator Dave McCormick (@SenMcCormickPA) November 9, 2026
McCormick is not alone.
Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson has already launched an effort to postpone the leadership elections following the GOP’s disastrous showing.
According to Just the News, Johnson secured the five Republican signatures necessary to request a Senate Republican Conference meeting to discuss delaying the vote.
Utah Senator Mike Lee has also supported holding a serious discussion before Republicans select their leaders.
Johnson described the idea of rushing ahead with leadership elections after such substantial losses as political malpractice, according to the Washington Examiner.
The Senate Republican leadership elections are currently scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, at 9 a.m. in the Old Senate Chamber.
Thune is seeking another term as Republican leader, but with Democrats poised to control the Senate in January, he would become Senate Minority Leader rather than continue as Majority Leader.
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