Pressure builds on Thune ahead of GOP leadership elections

Seven Republican senators now are calling for their leadership elections to be delayed — with one even promising to walk out rather than vote Tuesday. Why it matters: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is still expected to be reelected to lead the Senate GOP tomorrow. But the growing push to delay is a sign of troubles ahead. Driving the news: Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) all signed a letter demanding that the leadership elections be delayed to allow for more discussion about what went wrong for the party last week. Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) backed them up in statements posted on X. Johnson threatened to skip the vote if the delay doesn't happen. Between the lines: The decision technically falls to conference chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — though it's usually made with leadership buy-in. The election is expected to be held as planned Tuesday morning unless a senator motions to delay and it passes with a majority — which seems unlikely with the number of public supporters, according to a source familiar with the planning discussions. Despite the arguments that Thune should not get to lock in his leadership so quickly, no one has thrown their hat in the ring to challenge him. The bottom line: At this point, none of the leadership elections are competitive. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Conference Vice Chair James Lankford (R-Okla.) are expected to keep their spots as Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 atop the conference. Moreno is the sole candidate for NRSC chair.