Most likely to succeed: 3 guys named John

Mitch McConnell’s announcement that he will step aside as Senate Republican leader has sparked a mad dash among a divided GOP conference to replace him.

Speculation has centered on three Johns: Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

Thune, 63, the Senate minority whip, is McConnell’s second-incommand, while Barrasso, 71, serves as chair of the Senate Republican Conference and Cornyn, 72, spent four years as Senate majority whip.

“I think today is about Mitch McConnell, but I’ve made no secret of my intentions,” Cornyn teased reporters.

Thune, who lauded McConnell as “a fierce defender of the Senate,” is technically next in line, but all indications suggest that he’ll face stiff competition.

“I have been very clear and have long believed that we need new leadership in the Senate that represents our voters and the issues we were sent here to fight for,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in an icy statement.

After the 2022 midterms, Scott, 71, tried to dispatch McConnell as leader but could only muster 10 votes to the incumbent’s 37, with one abstention.

“There has been a rebellion brewing in the Republican conference over McConnell’s chaotic leadership and abandoning the border security fight at its height of popularity,” a Senate staffer dished to The Post.

“Even moderates were getting frustrated, making the 25 votes a real possibility,” the staffer added, referring to the number of senators needed to force a vote of no confidence. “He was getting out ahead of getting fired.”