Place Your Bets
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell says he’ll step down from his leadership post after this November’s general election. Naturally, the public jockeying for position has begun…I say “public” because given McConnell’s health issues of late, private jockeying began long ago.
I’ve heard folks say things like, “I’ll bet it will be so-and-so,” or “I’ll bet it will be such-and-such.” If you’re serious about that, oddsmakers are now making book on the subject.
SportsBetting.ag has their list and odds that were current as of yesterday morning.
The leading candidates are three men named John. Barrosso of Wyoming is the current leader with 2 to 1 odds. Then comes South Dakota’s Thune at 3 to 1, and Cornyn of Texas at 4 to 1.
Then come the Senators who are not named John. Steve Daines of Montana is fourth on the list at 6 to 1 odds, followed by Florida’s Rick Scott, who challenged McConnell for the post when it came up this session…he’s at 7 to 1. He’s followed by former GOP presidential candidate and South Carolina senator Tim Scott at 12 to 1.
Iowa’s Joni Ernst has been part of GOP leadership for a while, and SportsBetting.ag has put the odds of her becoming GOP leader in the Senate at 28 to 1…she’s tied for seventh with another female, West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito. Ohio’s J.D. Vance shows up next, at 35 to 1.
All of this is before presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump weighs in, because if he’s in the White House, you can bet he’ll have thoughts about who should lead the caucus in the Senate…and his endorsement does carry weight…which is why it’s probably not a coincidence that John Thune endorsed Trump for president earlier this week, likely after getting the tip that McConnell was standing aside.
By the way, this segment is taking next week off…we’ll resume these Iowa Politics report for you on Monday, March 11.
