WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators are meeting behind closed doors Wednesday to decide who will replace the Senate’s longtime leader Mitch McConnell and lead their new majority next year – a decision that could shape the future of the Senate and the party, as Donald Trump takes over the presidency.

South Dakota Senator. John Thunethe senator from texas. John Cornyn and the senator from Florida. Rick Scott fought to win the most votes in the secret ballot election, promising a new direction in Senate even as they compete furiously for Trump’s favor. It will be the first test of Trump’s relationship with Congress after he won the election decisively and claimed a mandate for his agenda.

It is not certain who will win.

Thune and Cornyn campaigned mostly in the Senate, working individually and privately as senators and raising millions of dollars for GOP Senate candidates. Both quickly mobilized in March after McConnell announced he would step down from the leadership.

Scott has run an insurgent campaign outside the Senate, campaigning publicly as Trump’s closest candidate and drawing support from people who are close to the former and future president. Scott received an outpouring of support for X over the weekend as Trump allies, including Elon Musk, pushed his bid.

Who the senators choose, and whether Trump ultimately endorses a nominee in the final hours, could set the tone for Trump’s attempts to assert control of the legislative branch in his second presidency. His relationship with McConnell was strained in his first term, and Trump was often frustrated that lawmakers did not fully bend to his will.

Both Cornyn and Thune have come close to Trump in recent months after criticizing him as he tried to to reverse his electoral defeat in 2020. But the two longtime senators are both viewed by their colleagues as institutionalists more in McConnell’s mold, while Scott has worked to drum up support outside the Senate and in Trump’s inner circle to press for a internal revisions.

“We got a mandate a week ago that the people want change,” the Republican senator said. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who supports Scott, when he entered a candidate forum Tuesday night. “They want President Trump to have more freedom than he had last time. He was kind of tied up a little bit.”

Tuberville said whoever is elected wants to make sure Trump “feels good.”

Regardless of who wins, all three senators have indicated they will defer to the incoming president as party leader and are willing to cede some of the Senate’s power to do so.

When Trump posted this Sunday X new leader “must agree” to allow them to appoint Cabinet members and others when the Senate is in recess, avoiding confirmation votes, all three quickly signaled they were open to the idea.

To choose the new leader, Senate Republicans will meet privately in a ceremonial space on Capitol Hill for several hours to hear candidates make their case. Few counselors are allowed to enter. The contestants will each be introduced and named by two other senators, then give a speech of their own. Ballots are cast in secret. If no one wins a majority in the first round of voting, a second round is held, and so on, until someone wins a majority of the votes.

The clubby contest is a stark contrast to the House, where lawmakers publicly announce their votes for speaker in House elections.

And aside from Scott’s challenge to McConnell two years ago, in which he won by 10 votes, it’s the first competitive election for the Republican leader in three decades. McConnell, who has been a force for the party but has repeatedly clashed with Trump, was unchallenged when he first became party leader in 2007.

Unlike most previous contests, there is no clear favorite going into the election. Because senators vote in secret, most won’t say who they’re voting for. And some may never say.

“It’s a secret ballot, and it’s a secret ballot for a reason,” said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, who said early on that he would support fellow homemaker Thune. “Each member chooses the leader they think they can work best with during this two-year period.”

Rounds said he liked the way Thune and Cornyn “handled it one-on-one with everybody,” but that he also talked to Scott. “We have three qualified people,” he said.

One thing all the candidates agree on is the shift from McConnell, who has requested the most cases as leader — a top request from the far-right faction of the caucus that disagreed with McConnell on what on aid to Ukraine and increasingly turned against him as he sparred with Trump. .

Thune, Scott and Cornyn said they would like to see more opportunities for individual senators to bring up bills and offer amendments, and pledged to be better communicators in the conference than the often reserved McConnell. At Tuesday night’s forum, the three agreed on many of the issues discussed, according to senators who left the meeting.

Thune, current no. 2 of McConnell, was seen by colleagues as something of a starter, taking over for a few weeks last year when McConnell was out for medical reasons. He is well-liked by his fellow senators and has been seen as the front-runner in the race for some time. But Cornyn, who served as McConnell’s No. 2 before Thune, is also highly regarded and has also won some commitments from colleagues.

Thune and Cornyn are similar on politics, generally voting in line with the conference but sometimes working with Democrats. Cornyn is a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who took a leading role in bipartisan gun legislation two years ago. Thune served across the aisle as former chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

The two differ on whether the leader should be term-limited – a key demand from some on the conservative wing. Cornyn pushed for the limits, while Thune did not.

Scott, the former Florida governor, was elected in 2018 and quickly positioned himself as a rebuff to McConnell, running against him for leadership in 2022 and aligning himself with Utah Sen. Mike Lee and others who have been highly critical of the current leadership. As Thune and Cornyn wooed their colleagues all year, Scott spent most of the year tied up in his own re-election race. He easily defeated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by more than 10 points.

Scott campaigned on his business background. He said Tuesday night that the argument boils down to the fact that “I support Donald Trump’s agenda. He has a mandate.”

Also voting in Wednesday’s election are the senators-elect who gave Republicans the majority next year, even though they have not yet been sworn in. Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, attended the forum Tuesday night and said afterward there was “incredible energy” in the room.

However, he said he has not decided who he will vote with. “We have three great candidates who should take us where we’re going,” he said.

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