Wednesday 16 November 2022 06:50 PM Republicans re-elect Mitch McConnell as their Senate leader trends now BREAKING NEWS - Republicans re-elect Mitch McConnell as their Senate leader: Defeats challenge from Rick Scott and amid criticism of the GOP's underwhelming midterms The Kentucky Republican garnered 37 votes to Scott's 10 in the Wednesday vote McConnell has been focus of calls for new leadership after lacklustre midterms On Tuesday he criticized the quality of candidates for failing to take the Senate By Morgan Phillips, Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 18:32 GMT, 16 November 2022 | Updated: 18:45 GMT, 16 November 2022 Viewcomments Senator Mitch McConnell fended off a challenge from Florida Sen. Rick Scott to hold on to his position as GOP leader on Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican garnered 37 votes to Scott's 10, with one vote for another challenger. He gave a thumbs up as he walked through the Capitol after securing his victory. A separate vote on a motion to delay the leadership vote until after the Georgia Senate run-off election on December 6 also failed 16-32. The minority leader had faced calls for new leadership after the GOP's lackluster showing in the midterm elections, but Scott had a hand in that performance too as chair of the GOP's Senate campaign arm. Mitch McConnell fended off a challenge from Florida Sen. Rick Scott to hold on to his position as GOP leader on Wednesday. He is pictured at the Capitol on Wednesday Florida Senator Scott won 10 votes from his colleagues in the bid to take McConnell's position After the election McConnell said that the GOP base turned out for Republican candidates but we have a problem with people in the middle who... determine the outcome.' Asked to respond to former President Trump's announcement that he is running for president for a third time, McConnell said: 'I don't have a dog in that fight.' McConnell on Tuesday criticized the quality of Republican candidates after Democrats took back control with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's win in Nevada. He also said he never predicted the 'red wave' that so many others in his party had expected. McConnell claimed many voters felt that Republicans 'were not dealing with issues in a responsible way and we were spending too much time on negativity and attacks and chaos. 'They were frightened and so they pulled back,' he added. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility