Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is on track to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2020 presidential election cycle.
The freshman Indiana Republican has met with more than 20 of his colleagues to pitch serving as chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm beginning next year, and they appear receptive. Significantly, Young has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
“It’s done,” said one Republican insider, expressing a sentiment shared by multiple GOP sources interviewed for this story by the Washington Examiner.
Republicans connected to Young, 45, were more circumspect, emphasizing the next NRSC chairman would be determined by a vote of Senate Republicans after the midterm elections.
“He is definitely running but it has to be voted on by the conference,” a GOP operative said. At the moment, there are no other candidates.
Senate Republicans are in the drivers seat this November, despite a challenging political environment for the GOP overall.
The party is on defense in only three seats, and President Trump was victorious in two of them in 2016. The Democrats are defending 10 seats in states the president won two years ago. But 2020 could unfold differently; Republicans will be defending more seats than the Democrats and the presidential race could impact the outcome.
Young’s path to the Senate makes him an attractive choice to helm the NRSC in a potentially tough cycle.
In 2016, amid tumult at the top of the ticket, Young — described as a tenacious campaigner by his allies — came from behind to defeat the better-funded former Sen. Evan Bayh, who was running to get his old job back. Bayh’s father was a governor and a senator, and his last name was gold in Indiana politics until Young knocked him off. McConnell monitored the race closely, and was impressed.
The majority leader in recent years has been a commanding influence in the selection of the NRSC chairman, although the hire is determined by a vote of GOP senators.
Young is smart not to measure the drapes. Doing so can irk members. There’s an old saying in congressional leadership elections that the only reliable voting commitment from a colleague is from one who tells the candidate he intends to vote against him. A policy wonk, Young could view leading the NRSC as a path to his choice of top committee assignments.
Some Republicans have speculated that Utah Republican Mitt Romney might succeed Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado as NRSC chairman. The former presidential nominee is a prolific fundraiser who has maintained relationships with some of the party’s biggest contributors since seeking the White House in 2012.
But it would be unusual for a senator to move straight into elected leadership on the heels of winning an election, as Romney is heavily favored to do this fall. Additionally, Republicans close to the former Massachusetts governor expect him to observe Senate protocol that calls for keeping a low profile initially before assuming a leadership role.
