HELENA — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines says, regardless of how well Republicans do in their bid to take back control of the Senate, he won’t be running for party leader.
Daines told the news website Semafor he’d made a “firm” decision that he wouldn’t be a candidate to replace retiring Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
“I’m appreciative of everybody who’s asked me to consider it, but I’m not going to run for majority leader,” Daines said in the Semafor article. “I very much enjoyed serving as chairman of the NRSC. But I know when you become majority leader, you spend a lot more time in D.C.”
Daines told Semafor he wanted to spend more time with his family and in Montana after spending the last two years leading the nationwide Republican efforts to win back a Senate majority in 2024 — including the campaign to defeat Montana’s other U.S. senator, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
National outlets had speculated that Daines might run for Senate leadership, particularly if the GOP won a majority behind his efforts. In February, Politico reported former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had encouraged Daines to run for leader.
Daines had not yet announced a final decision, telling MTN shortly after the Politico report that he was focused on the 2024 campaign.
Other candidates to lead the Senate GOP include Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida.
First elected to the Senate in 2014 and reelected in 2020, Daines will be up for his third term in 2026.
