Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell won the leadership election in a secret ballot after days of finger-pointing for Republican election losses, putting him on pace to become the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history.   

  McConnell defeated Florida Sen. Rick Scott, his first challenger in 15 years at the top of his conference.   

  McConnell won the leadership 37-10-1, according to two senators.  One senator voted absent.   

  Senate Republican Conference Chairman Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming has officially announced the list of GOP leadership positions after the election, including that Republican Sen. John Thune will continue as whip.   

  Montana Sen. Steve Daines will replace Scott as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.   

  For Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the caucus leadership election will be held on Dec. 8, according to a source with knowledge of the Senate Democratic luncheon on Wednesday.   

  After a tense meeting Tuesday that lasted several hours — the first in-person meeting for the Republican convention since the midterms — Scott told reporters he planned to challenge McConnell for the top job.   

  “I’m going to run for leader,” the Florida Republican told reporters.  “I’m not satisfied with the status quo and so I think we have to have a choice.”   

  He added: “I still think we should delay the elections.”   

  Over the course of this year, Scott and McConnell have had a long-running conflict over messaging, outlook and how to spend resources this election cycle.  The two have clashed over the quality of their candidates, whether to participate in the GOP primary, whether to push an agenda or keep the focus on President Joe Biden and where to compete.   

  Wednesday’s vote comes after Scott and a handful of conservative senators called for the leadership election to be delayed until the Georgia runoff, underscoring Senate Republicans’ frustration with the outcome of the 2022 election. The delay vote failed during the closed-door session, although 16 GOP senators voted to delay the GOP leadership election, according to a familiar source.   

  And while Scott has little chance of succeeding in his bid to become leader, his announcement is seen as a protest vote.  He will become the first challenger McConnell faces in his time as GOP leader.   

  During the closed-door hearing with his Republican colleagues, Scott engaged in a tense exchange with McConnell in which they criticized each other.   

  “Japanese minute. Scott disagrees with the approach Mitch has taken in this election and the last two years, and he’s made that clear, and Senator McConnell has criticized Senator Scott’s management of the NRSC,” Senator Josh Hawley told reporters. from Missouri on the exchange of views. .   

  Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he was willing to overcome differences with his Republican colleagues after emerging from a closed-door meeting Tuesday and hold a leadership election.   

  He said he believes Republicans should focus on helping Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker in his Dec. 6 runoff against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.   

  “I think the best thing we can do is put it behind us,” Cornyn told CNN.  “Because you guys are going to keep writing about it for the next three weeks and it’s going to distract from the Georgia runoff, which I think should be our undivided focus.”   

  This story has been updated with additional developments.