Florida Senator Rick Scott is the favorite to become the next Senate majority leader, according to oddsmakers.
After Republicans won control of the Senate in Tuesday’s election, several leading figures in the GOP endorsed Scott to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who has led Senate Republicans since 2007.
On Monday, Polymarket, an online betting platform, gave Scott a 62 percent chance of becoming the next majority leader. South Dakota Senator John Thune followed with a 34 percent chance, while Texas Senator John Cornyn, who had a 5 percent chance, was the next favorite.
Kalshi, another prediction market, gave Scott a 59 percent chance of securing the nomination, while Thune had a 39 percent chance and Cornyn had an 8 percent chance.
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On Saturday, Scott posted a letter on X, formerly Twitter, that he had written to his Republican colleagues in May. The letter announced his candidacy to replace McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the history of the Senate.
“I believe that our voters want us to use this leadership election to make a choice to upend the status quo in Washington,” Scott wrote. “If you also believe this to be true and want a leader dedicated to that principle, I would be honored to have the opportunity to earn your support.”
Scott, who was elected to the Senate in 2018, previously served as Florida’s governor beginning in 2011. Newsweek has contacted Scott’s office for comment via email.
Among the leading figures in the Republican Party who have endorsed Scott is tech billionaire Elon Musk, who played a major role in President-elect Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign.
In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk endorsed Scott on Sunday, writing, “Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!” By Monday, the post had been viewed more than 29.3 million times.
Republican Senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson have all endorsed Scott, as have leading figures in the MAGA movement, including Vivek Ramaswamy and Tucker Carlson.
The vote is scheduled to be held by secret ballot on Wednesday.
Although Trump has not endorsed a candidate, he wrote on X that any candidate would have to agree to allow him to appoint officials to his administration while the Senate is in recess.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” the president-elect wrote on Sunday.
Scott replied to the post: “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.”
