Senators elect party leaders
Majority unknown, but Mcconnell, Schumer keep roles
Senate Democrats and Republicans elected their leaders for the 117th Congress on Tuesday, reaffirming support for the current top leadership while the question of who will be the Senate majority leader remains to be determined by runoff elections in Georgia in January.
Sen. Mitch Mcconnell of Kentucky, who just won a seventh term, was unanimously re-elected Republican leader. Sen. Charles Schumer, D -N.Y., was re-elected Democratic leader by acclamation, as were the other members of the leadership team, according to aides who were present who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private session.
“We’re ready to get going, even though there’s some suspense about whether we’ll be in the majority or not, which will be answered in Georgia on January 5th,” Mcconnell said at a news conference with members of the GOP leadership Tuesday morning.
The looming question is whether Mcconnell will remain majority leader, with Republicans controlling the chamber as a counterweight to President-elect Joe Biden and House Democrats, who hold a slim majority.
On Tuesday, Republicans got a major boost in their effort to hold the majority as Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was projected to win re-election, defeating Democrat Cal Cunningham.
Tillis and Cunningham had been locked in a tight race, but the Democrat had to answer in the campaign’s final weeks for illicit texts to a woman not his wife and revelations of infidelity.
“The voters have spoken and I respect their decision. While the results of this election suggest there remain deep political divisions in our state and nation, the more complete story of our country lies in what unites us,” Cunningham said in a statement in which he noted that he’d just called Tillis to congratulate him.
Republicans will have 49 seats to Democrats’ 48 while both parties await the results in Alaska, where Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, held the lead over independent Al Gross, who is supported by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The majority would come down to the Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia. One race pits Sen. David Perdue, a Republican, against Jon Ossoff, while appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican, is trying to win the seat outright against Raphael Warnock.
If Democrats win those races, establishing a 50-50 tie, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would break the tie.