{"id":2017985,"date":"2023-08-31T11:50:41","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-mitch-mcconnell\/"},"modified":"2023-08-31T11:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:52:34","slug":"the-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-mitch-mcconnell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-mitch-mcconnell\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 3 GOP Candidates to Replace Mitch McConnell"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-mitch-mcconnell%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2017985&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell&#8217;s Health Raises Questions About\u200b His Future<\/h2>\n<p>Senate\u200d Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suffered a\u200d fall in March that required a five-day stay in\u200d the hospital, then froze at the podium during \u2062a news conference just over a month ago in what may or may\u2063 not have been an unrelated\u2063 incident.<\/p>\n<p>But after a second freezing episode while speaking reporters\u2063 Wednesday, questions about the 81-year-old Kentucky \u200dRepublican\u2019s health and fitness to serve in \u200doffice are back in the news \u200c\u2014 especially as Republicans increasing ask similar questions about \u2064President Joe Biden, who will turn 81 in November.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/mitch-mcconnell-the-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-him-185836283.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yahoo News<\/a> Chief National \u200dCorrespondent Jon Ward, \u200bthree \u2062senators \u2062named \u200bJohn are the \u200bmost likely\u200d replacements to fill the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-fact-checkers-had-another-bad-week\/\" title=\"The Fact Checkers Had Another Bad Week\">minority leader position<\/a>, should McConnell reverse\u2062 his early\u2063 statements that he plans to finish out his term, which \u2062will end in January \u2064of \u20642025.<\/p>\n<p>Ward believes the current minority whip, Sen. John Thune of South \u2063Dakota, would be most \u2064likely to step into the role if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-spokesman-gop-leader-mcconnell-hospitalized-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McConnell steps aside<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thune is 62 and has been\u2063 in\u200b the\u2062 Senate since 2005,\u200c serving as whip, the No. 2 Republican position in the Senate, since 2019. \u2064As the No.\u200d 2 man, it seems \u2064logical that he would be chosen to complete McConnell\u2019s term for him if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Another logical possibility would\u200c be\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cornyn-dems-3-5-trillion-bill-economic-grenade-tossed-laps-american-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sen. John Cornyn<\/a>, who served as\u200d the Republican whip for the\u200c six years prior \u200bto Thune\u2063 taking over.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bTexas Republican is 71 and has \u200btwo\u2064 more years under his belt as a senator\u200b than Thune, \u2063and Ward pointed out\u2063 that he \u2064also experience leading the \u201ccampaign arm\u201d that helps Republicans win senatorial elections, experience that Thune lacks.<\/p>\n<p>The former \u200dassociate justice\u2062 of\u200b the Texas\u200b Supreme Court has previously \u200cbeen mentioned \u2063as a possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mike-huckabee-believes-trump-will-convicted-d-c-case-will-make-way-scotus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> nominee, as \u2064well.<\/p>\n<p>But logic, as any regular reader of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/join-monthly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Western Journal<\/a> knows, does\u200d not always prevail in politics. If Thune or Cornyn couldn\u2019t generate enough support from fellow Republicans to win the minority leader position \u2014 \u200bThune perhaps because he could be considered too moderate, and Cornyn too conservative \u2014 a third John is waiting in the wings, Ward \u2062suggested.<\/p>\n<p>Wyoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sen-barrasso-blood-drained-schiffs-face-trump-counsel-played-damning-clip\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sen. John Barrasso<\/a> \u2064 would typically be \u2063considered most likely to step\u2063 into the whip position\u2064 if Thune moves \u200binto the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-3-republicans-who-are-likeliest-to-succeed-mitch-mcconnell\/\" title=\"Top 3 GOP Candidates to Replace Mitch McConnell\">minority \u200cleader\u2064 slot<\/a>, but \u200bagain,\u200c things\u200b don\u2019t \u200dalways work \u2063out the \u2064way people expect them \u200bto \u200cinside the \u200cBeltway.<\/p>\n<p>Barrasso, also 71,\u200c was \u200cappointed to the Senate after Sen. Craig Thomas\u2019 death from complications\u2062 of leukemia \u2062in 2007 and later replaced Thune as \u2062head of the Senate Republican Conference when the latter became the\u200d Republican whip\u200c in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/01\/12\/mcconnell-successor-three-johns-race-526920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politico<\/a>\u2019s Burgess Everett wrote over 18 months \u2063ago, \u201cWhen Mitch McConnell steps down as Senate GOP leader, which won\u2019t happen anytime \u200bsoon,\u200d John\u200d is sure to replace him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u200cunanswered \u2064question is which \u200bof the\u2064 three Johns will get\u200c the\u200d nod. Or, of course, if any of them will, as\u2062 there is still no indication from McConnell that he plans\u2064 to do anything other than finish out his term.<\/p>\n<p>His health \u200bcould force the\u200b issue, however, according to two doctors \u200cwho were asked\u200b by\u2064 journalists to offer their opinions as to what\u2062 could be ailing\u2064 the minority leader.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Marc \u200dSiegel, a physician\u200c affiliated with New York University\u2019s \u2063Langone Medical Center, suggested in\u2064 a Wednesday \u2062interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6336160729112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a> that\u200b the\u2064 Republican Senate \u2062leader was \u2063suffering from Parkinson\u2019s\u2063 disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI \u200bhave\u2064 to tell you, at the top of that\u200c list, \u2063and again I haven\u2019t examined him and I\u200c don\u2019t have\u2063 any background on this \u2014 except I\u2019ve talked\u2062 to\u2062 some people in Congress \u2063and in the Senate \u2014 would be Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat, in its later\u200d stages, can give you a freeze,\u201d Siegel said of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mcconnell-appears-suffer-another-scary-health-episode-camera-keeps-rolling-aides-step\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McConnell<\/a>\u2019s behavior, pointing out that the senator\u2019s staffers hadn\u2019t reacted with alarm bells.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell froze publicly for a second time in just over a month during a function Wednesday\u200c in Covington, Kentucky.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Mitch McConnell appearing to have another\u2062 scary episode in \u2063the media gaggle in Covington today. \u200dAides had to step in\u200c to help him out and repeat questions. He was eventually lead away. We\u2019ll have the full video on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WLWT?\">@WLWT<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q9ex5MHxLV\">pic.twitter.com\/q9ex5MHxLV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Hannah\u2063 Thomas (@HannahPThomas) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HannahPThomas\/status\/1696936240040321474?\">August 30, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The event followed an incident in which McConnell became <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-mitch-mcconnell-freezes-mid-sentence-press-conference-appears-unwell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">similarly\u200c unresponsive<\/a> in the \u200challs \u2064of the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>Neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta had a similar theory for McConnell\u2019s difficulties in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/health\/2023\/08\/30\/mitch-mcconnell-freezing-during-news-conference-sanjay-gupta-lead-vpx.cnn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a> interview, though he left open a \u2062range of different possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things \u200dthat \u2063can sort of come to mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Gupta also pointed out that \u2063McConnell\u2019s aides hadn\u2019t reacted with surprise, suggesting that the problems were \u201congoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone who \u2063has a Parkinsonian-like condition, for example,\u2062 whose medications are wearing off, or something \u200dlike that,\u201d he suggested.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s something \u2062that could sort of\u2062 explain this behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parkinson\u2019s disease is a serious degenerative disease in\u200b which \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-doctors-have-an-idea-about-what-could-be-causing-mitch-mcconnell-to-freeze-up\/\" title=\"Two doctors theorize the cause of Mitch McConnell's freezing.\">patients lose control<\/a> over their\u200c nervous system, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/parkinsons-disease\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20376055\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mayo\u200b Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A \u2063McConnell spokesperson has indicated that the 81-year old senator merely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/biden-says-get-touch-mcconnell-freezing-episode-bizarrely-deflects-re-election-question\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">felt\u200b lightheaded<\/a>, although he planned to consult with a physician\u2063 following the \u2064incident.<\/p>\n<p>The post\u200d <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/3-republicans-likeliest-succeed-mitch-mcconnell\/\">The 3 Republicans Who Are\u2063 Likeliest to Succeed Mitch\u200b McConnell<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell&#8217;s health has raised concerns after a fall in March led to a five-day hospitalization. Additionally, he experienced a freezing incident during a news conference a month ago, possibly unrelated. However, further doubts arose when he encountered another freezing episode while addressing reporters on Wednesday, prompting more questions about his well-being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2010,"featured_media":2017986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2017985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2017985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2017986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2017985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2017985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2017985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}