After nearly two decades atop the Senate Republican Conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced his plans last week to step down from his role in November, ceding the way to one of his lieutenants or other ambitious hopefuls to ascend to party leader as the GOP eyes winning back a majority in the chamber.

Of the so-called “Three Johns” — the best-positioned Republicans who served with McConnell in the leadership ranks — South Dakota Sen. John Thune officially announced his candidacy to local outlets in his state, while Texas Sen. John Cornyn is off to the races recruiting backers in the conference.

Current Senate GOP No. 3, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, intends to seek the No. 2 spot instead, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I think we’re ready for a new generation of consistent, principled, conservative leadership for Republicans in the United States Senate that empowers our individual members,” Thune told Dakota News Now on Monday. “I think this is a real opportunity. Any transition is a chance for a reset. In my view, this is a chance for a reset and I’d like to be a part of it.”

Cornyn has begun his campaign and told CNN he spoke to former President Donald Trump about his candidacy, but did not broach the topic of endorsement. Several right-wing gun groups have come out in opposition over Cornyn’s past efforts to work with Democrats on gun control legislation and some state-level Texas find him insufficiently conservative.

Trump, who is rapidly consolidating his party establishment’s support as the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, will loom large in the race. Already candidates are speaking with him, to either court his endorsement or perhaps neutralize any opposition he may have to their aspirations. Every contender in the race — along with over 30 of their Senate GOP colleagues — has endorsed Trump.

“He’s the Republican frontrunner. He’s going to have, you know, a voice in it. We recognize that,” South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. “The former president will have the opportunity to influence a number of my colleagues, but we also want to be able to have a good working relationship with him if he becomes the next president of the United States. We’ve got things we’ve got to get done.”

McConnell, who reportedly hasn’t spoken to Trump in years, has declined to endorse so far and maintained a frosty relationship with the former president. As a result, the longest serving party leader in Senate history has grown increasingly unpopular in his conference and among the Republican base. A December Monmouth University poll found just 10% of Republicans approved of his job performance.

Rounds is backing his fellow South Dakotan in Thune, he said on Sunday. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin also expressed support for Thune before he announced last week.

“We’ve got some really good choices. I just happen to think John Thune is the right guy at the right time. Great moral character,” Rounds said. “And I think he will be independent enough to where he will look out also, just like Mitch did, for the institution of the Senate itself. So, I'm optimistic.”

Trump did not endorse Thune in 2022 and the senator responded in turn by initially backing South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott in the presidential primary. 

On Monday, Thune said he had spoken with the former president about a week ago and “had a nice conversation,” dismissing concerns about Trump’s attacks on him in the past. Montana Sen. Steve Daines, who is leading his party’s efforts to secure a majority this fall, confirmed Trump encouraged him to pursue the top job, but has yet to reveal his intentions. And Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for leadership in 2022, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday and posted a picture with the former president giving a thumbs up.

Trump allies Roger Stone, the political dirty trickster, and Charlie Kirk, the leader of the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA, have both expressed their support for Scott. The Florida Republican has a press conference scheduled for 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday to “make a campaign announcement.”

“I’m seriously considering it,” Scott told Kirk on his show on Monday. “There's two dictatorships in the Senate. There's, on the Republican side, there's the Mitch McConnell. And on the Democrat side, there's a Chuck Schumer. Right? And so they basically, because they control those super PACs, they say, ‘hey, I elected you, you're gonna vote with me. I won't help you next time.’”

“That's not going to happen, because what I'm going to do is I'm gonna say, ‘look… whatever state you represent, how can I help your state succeed?’” Scott added.

The former Florida governor cited allies on the Senate’s hard-right who he would count on to boost his bid, including: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. None have officially endorsed in the race yet. Hawley told Spectrum News last week he has no interest in the top job himself.

“I think we need a leader in the Senate who is a conservative, I think we need a leader in the Senate who can work hand-in-hand with President Trump,” Cruz said on Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Sunday. “Republicans, when we have the majority, we tend to be half-assed and just do a little bit.”

“If we get the opportunity again in January, we shouldn’t blow it this time, we should deliver in a real and serious and… strategic way,” Cruz added.

Unlike in the House where a majority of the full chamber is required to approve a speaker, the Senate majority and minority leaders are voted on by just their respective parties.

“Conservatives have a generational opportunity. McConnell has been the Senate’s GOP leader for over 17 years,” wrote Clint Brown, a Heritage Foundation executive, in an op-ed last week. Brown previously served as the executive director of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, which sets a conservative agenda for the conference. In the op-ed, he depicted a party and country on the edge of catastrophe, prescribing leadership further to the right than the notably conservative McConnell as the solution to Republicans woes.

“To anyone not living under a rock, it should be clear what’s at stake. The leftist regime is prosecuting former President Donald Trump. The border is wide open. Inflation and federal deficit spending are crushing everyday Americans,” Brown continued. “These are existential threats to the republic… Senators must recognize the moment in considering what type of leadership to elect.”

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that Sen. Steve Daines represents Montana.