Politics

DeMint: ‘I’m not running for a leadership position’

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Despite a report in a South Carolina newspaper that Republican Sen. Jim DeMint is open to serving in the Republican Senate leadership, DeMint said Wednesday he is not seeking a leadership role.

DeMint made the remarks while on a conference call with Ron Johnson, running for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. When The Daily Caller asked Johnson, who was endorsed by DeMint, if he would support the South Carolina as leader, DeMint interrupted him.

“Let me jump in there, because I’m not running for a leadership position, and so I don’t want you to try to answer that question,” he said. “What we really need up here is a group of Republican Senators who are gonna pull our leadership in the right direction, and Ron, I think that’s what I think you can help us do.”

He continued: “I didn’t want you to split the hairs on that because I’m not running for leadership.”

During a recent interview on ABC, Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck, also endorsed by DeMint, said he “certainly” thinks DeMint “has a leadership role in the Republican Party in the Senate, absolutely.”

A spokesman for Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, did not return a request for comment.

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