Senate Republicans lament midterms, weigh leadership election delay

Senate Majority Leader John Thune arrives for a GOP conference meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) By Savannah Behrmann Posted November 10, 2026 at 12:43pm Senate Republicans on Tuesday were weighing whether to postpone their leadership elections after what several senators described as a “frank” conversation about their midterm losses last week. But so far, no official candidate has emerged to challenge John Thune, R-S.D., for the post of minority leader in the new Congress. The conference was supposed to begin its leadership elections Tuesday morning, but pushed those back to hear from members still reeling from the midterm results, which saw the GOP lose their Senate majority. As the conference meeting turned into what some dubbed an “open-mic session,” they took a break to attend previously scheduled committee hearings, with a plan to return at 2 p.m.

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