参议员约翰·巴拉索(John Barrasso)周二宣布，他正在寻求参议院共和党第二号领袖的职位，打破了长期以来他将争夺少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)最高职位的预期。
这位怀俄明州参议员说，他认为担任共和党的党鞭将是共和党的合适人选。
他在一份声明中说:“我有时间思考如何才能最好地为共和党大会和我们的党服务。”“经过深思熟虑后，我将请求我的同事们支持我，帮助我作为共和党领袖助理为他们工作。”
巴拉索目前担任共和党会议主席，使他成为参议院共和党第三号人物。如果当选少数党党鞭，他将取代现任党鞭约翰·图恩，成为共和党二号人物。谁的目标是成为党的领袖。
“嗯，我希望如此，我会尽我所能说服我的同事们，”图恩告诉凯罗兰新闻星期一。“他们是选民。他们才是最终做出决定的人。”
美国参议院少数党党鞭参议员约翰·图恩(共和党)在大厅里与媒体成员交谈...
亚历克斯·王/盖蒂图片公司
上周，麦康奈尔宣布，在担任参议院共和党领袖近20年后，他将于11月卸任。他指出，他将在2027年结束参议员任期。
巴拉索寻求第二名的决定有点提前改变了这场比赛，预计这场比赛将在巴拉索、图恩和参议员约翰·科宁之间展开巴拉索在很大程度上被视为三人中最保守、最支持特朗普的人。
上周在亚利桑那州与参议院候选人卡里·莱克(Kari Lake)一起竞选时，当被直接问及是否会寻求麦康奈尔的职位时，巴拉索没有排除竞选共和党领袖的可能性。
“选举要到11月晚些时候才会举行。对我来说，关键的选举是11月初的选举——美国总统和全国各地参议院席位的选举，这就是我来这里的原因。“这是我关心的选举。我想尽我所能确保唐纳德·特朗普再次当选美国总统，而卡莉·莱克是大多数人的一部分...对于美国参议院的共和党人来说。”
向下投票的领导层竞选刚刚开始充实起来，因为那些宣布有意竞选新职位的人在寻求晋升时在领导层结构中留下了新的漏洞。共和党参议员汤姆·科顿。他周二告诉保守派电台主持人休·休伊特，他将努力取代巴拉索目前的位置。
Barrasso announces he will seek GOP Whip position, not Senate Republican leader
Sen. John Barrasso announced Tuesday that he's seeking the No. 2 Senate GOP leadership position, bucking long-held expectations that he'd vie for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's top spot.
The Wyoming senator said he believes serving as the Republican Party's whip will be the right fit for the GOP.
"I have had time to reflect on how I might best serve the Republican Conference and our party," he said in a statement. "After a lot of thought I will ask my colleagues for their support and help to work for them as Assistant Republican Leader."
Barrasso currently serves as the Republican Conference chair, making him the third-ranking Senate Republican. If elected Minority Whip, he will become the No. 2 Republican, replacing current Whip John Thune,who is aiming to be the party leader.
"Well, I hope to be, and I'm going to do everything I can to convince my colleagues," Thune toldKeloland NewsMonday. "They're the voters. They're the ones who ultimately make the decision."
Last week, McConnell announced that he will step down as the Senate Republican leader in November after serving almost two decades in the role. He noted that he'll finish his term as senator, which ends in 2027.
Barrasso's decision to seek the No. 2 position is a bit of an early shake-up to this race, which was expected to be a face-off between Barrasso, Thune and Sen. John Cornyn -- also known as the "three Johns." Barrasso was largely seen as the most conservative and Trump-aligned of the three.
While campaigning in Arizona with Senate hopeful Kari Lake last week, Barrasso didn't rule out running for Republican leader when asked directly if he would be seeking McConnell's position.
"That election doesn't occur until later in November. To me, the key election is the one earlier in November -- the election for president in the United States and Senate seats all around the country, and that's why I'm here," he said. "That's the election I'm concerned about. I want to do everything I can to make sure that Donald Trump is elected president of the United States again, and Kari Lake is part of a majority ... for Republicans in the United States Senate."
Down-ballot leadership races are just now being fleshed out, as those announcing their intent to to run for new positions leave new holes in the leadership structure as they look to move up the chain. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday he'll try to nab Barrasso's current spot.
