Senate GOP race to succeed McConnell takes shape with Thune in, Barrasso out

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., won’t run for Senate Republican leader and instead will run for the No. 2 position of whip, according to three sources with knowledge of his plans.

That means the race to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is now effectively between Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the former whip, although there’s still time for other candidates to jump in because a vote won't happen until after the November election.

“We need change. We need to stand up and fight aggressively for our Republican priorities,” Barrasso, currently the No. 3 Republican senator, wrote Tuesday in a letter to colleagues, obtained by NBC News. “If elected to serve as your Whip, I will look for greater openness about our process and transparency about your choices. We must put consensus within our Conference ahead of deal-making among a few. Additionally, I will continue to push our Leadership team and Conference to align our priorities with the priorities of our voters.”

Barrasso noted in his letter that the last year “has been a difficult one for me and my family” with the death of his wife, Bobbi.

On Monday, Thune made his long-anticipated run official.

Asked by a South Dakota news station whether he wants to be leader, Thune said, “Well, I hope to be, and I’m going to do everything I can to convince my colleagues — they’re the voters, they’re the ones who ultimately make the decision.”

“As we look at a new generation of consistent, principled, conservative leadership in the United States Senate that empowers our Senate Republicans, that puts a check and balance against the Schumer — what has been a very liberal Schumer-Biden agenda, I’m prepared to lead that effort,” Thune said.

Schumer is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Thune was also asked how he justifies his endorsement of former President Donald Trump in the wake of his still not having acknowledged his loss in 2020, his criminal indictments and his being found liable for sexual abuse.

“I disagree with him on that. And of course, I’ve made that abundantly clear,” Thune said of Trump’s 2020 election lies. “And I’m not going to re-litigate it.”

On Trump’s criminal cases, Thune said he will “let the process play out,” but he added that the 2024 election is “a very clear choice” between Trump and President Joe Biden.

“That’s to me is a very clear choice for the American people about what they want to see in the future in terms of policies that impact their daily lives, whether it’s economic policies, national security, southern border, energy,” he said. “There’s a whole bunch of things in my view that we got to change to get the country back on track.”

For Thune, who is term-limited out of the whip job after this year, anything less than becoming Republican leader would be a step down. Barrasso would move up if he becomes whip.

Cornyn announced his run for leader last week, saying that if elected he will "improve communication, increase transparency, and ensure inclusion of every Member’s expertise and opinion." He was McConnell’s whip before he was term-limited out of the position in January 2019.

With Barrasso vacating the No. 3 position of Republican conference chair, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Tuesday that he plans to run for it.

“Some of my colleagues have approached me about the conference chair job, the No. 3 position in leadership. I’m focusing on that position right now,” Cotton said on Fox Business. “It’s open because of term limits for John Barrasso, who has done a good job there. That helps drive our message for the American people.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com