McConnell tells CNN he wants Ricketts to replace Sen. Sasse

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has a Republican favorite to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse if the University of Florida taps the Nebraskan to lead its flagship university: Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Kentucky’s McConnell told CNN for a story published Tuesday that he urged Ricketts to run for the seat. 

“I’ve talked to Governor Ricketts,” CNN quoted McConnell as saying. “We’re hoping that he ends up in the Senate. Exactly how that happens under Nebraska law is yet to be determined.”

McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee like when wealthy, well-known candidates run in red states because they typically need less national fundraising help.

Sasse is the lone finalist for the presidency of the University of Florida in Gainesville. He visited campus this week for sessions with students, faculty and staff.

Hundreds of student protesters disrupted his meetings Monday, but he is expected to return to campus Nov. 1 for his final interview with Florida’s GOP-appointed Board of Trustees.

Sasse sources have said they expect him to resign his seat in late November or early December if he gets the job. Under Nebraska law, the governor has 45 days to appoint a successor. 

Ricketts has said publicly that he would not appoint himself to the seat. He said if he is interested in the position, he would leave the decision to the next governor. 

That appointee would serve until at least January 2025. Primary and general elections to fill the remaining two years of Sasse’s term would be held in 2024. 

That would stack the May and November 2024 elections in Nebraska with a presidential race and a pair of Senate races, because Sen. Deb Fischer’s seat is set to be on the ballot again that year.

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