Unhappy MAGA voters prepping vote protest — over race for GOP Senate majority leader
The dust has barely settled over Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, and many of his most fervent supporters are looking to apply some of the same tactics from the 2020 "Stop the Steal" protests to the vote over who will be the next Senate majority leader.
Longtime GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — staring down retirement and not on best terms with Trump — has stepped aside as Republicans secure a Senate majority, and the race seems to be down to three main candidates who want the job: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
Scott, who signaled his interest in the top spot earlier this year, appears to be a fan favorite of many MAGA supporters — but he also appears to be divisive among his GOP Senate colleagues, and carries baggage including a widely-despised proposal to sunset Social Security. Trump has reportedly privately signaled he doesn't consider Scott to be a serious candidate for the post.
As supporters of both Scott and Trump face uncertainty, they are reportedly preparing to target GOP senators for protest.
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According to Nashville reporter Kelly Avellino, a protest is being planned for Tuesday at the office of Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn called "A Rally For Greater Political Transparency & Accountability," to rail against the GOP's secret ballot process for choosing a new senator.
"Some of these Leader candidates have shown covert, and sometimes overt, opposition to President Trump and his agenda," said the flyer advertising the protest. "The American people deserve to know how our elected officials plan to vote & why."
"Vote is set to be on Wed. via secret ballot… which isn’t going over well with Trump supporters who want Sen. Rick Scott," noted Avellino.
Some observers were stunned by this new development of pro-Trump Republicans turning on each other.
"This is nuts," Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery posted to X. "MAGA folks are holding a protest outside of Marsha Blackburn's office to meddle in an internal Senate GOP process that senators 1) routinely conduct with secret ballots and 2) want to keep this way. I don't think this will bode well for Trump/Rick Scott."