Sen. Lee to 'officiate' forum with Senate GOP leader candidates ahead of formal vote

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is organizing a candidate forum for the top Senate GOP leader candidates in the evening of Nov. 12.

The leadership election will take place the following day.

"I will officiate the meeting only to ensure each senator is given an equal amount of time to engage in the conversation and to manage the order of the presentations and questions," the senator announced in a letter on Friday. 

"As the facilitator of the meeting, I will not ask any questions, nor will I engage in the conversation," he added.

The candidates who could succeed longtime Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are Sen. John Cornyn, of Texas, John Thune, of South Dakota and Rick Scott, of Florida. 

“Each of the current candidates has agreed to participate, and should another candidate emerge, they will be given that same opportunity,” Lee wrote in the letter to his collegues.