Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, may lose out on a Senate leadership role to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who already announced his campaign for the third-ranking position in the Senate GOP, Axios reported.
Erst, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the Senate and the fourth-highest ranking member of the GOP as Republican Policy Committee chair, announced earlier that she was running for Senate Republican Conference chair.
Her announcement came about a week after Cotton announced his own campaign for the same post. Axios reports that the Arkansas Republican has already amassed considerable support from across the GOP conference, and sources say that his team is confident that he will secure the post.
However, Ernst is reportedly still working to persuade her colleagues to lend her their support, with one source noting that she's not afraid of a difficult campaign.
"I've never been the establishment's chosen candidate. I've always been that outsider," Ernst told Politico earlier this month.
She noted in another interview that Cotton "didn't give many of us a heads-up" before he announced his bid for GOP conference chair, which she said "would have been common courtesy."
Ernst may lose her current leadership post to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., with one source telling Axios it would be unlikely for Ernst to change her mind and attempt to keep her current role.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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