The pressure campaign being waged by allies of Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to boost his chances to become the next Republican leader is having a boomerang effect, as it has increasingly antagonized GOP senators and could doom his already-dim odds in the race.
Scott is running against Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for the right to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) atop the conference, with the latter two are widely seen as the favorites.
But with just over 48 hours until the planned vote, Scott’s backers — many of whom are ardent supporters of President-elect Trump — have gone on a public offensive to try to put him over the top.
One top aide to a Senate Republican who has yet to decide on who to support told The Hill that the member “could not be more turned off” by the coercion tactics and described the level of efficacy in pushing them away as a “10 out of 10.”
“It’s the last thing you’d want to do if you were mounting a successful campaign to get your colleagues to vote for you,” the aide said. “He’s shown no penchant for winning friends or influencing positive outcomes.”
“How are you going to be leader of the conference if the only tactic in your toolkit is to........