Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
The longest-serving leader in the history of the Senate, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), still has three years left in a legislative career that has spanned four decades.
But with questions about McConnell’s health proving to be stubbornly enduring—and rumors about his possible retirement persistently floating around Capitol Hill—the race to replace him as Senate Republican leader is already on.
Senators aren’t so crass as to openly campaign for a position that isn’t yet open. Trying to nudge McConnell out the door, as Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) did at the start of this Senate session—is widely seen as counterproductive.