McConnell Excited About Dream Political Job

While votes have not yet been tallied, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is already vowing a sea change in his chamber when he takes over as the likely next Senate majority leader, a dream political gig and one where he hopes to make inspired changes, one of his former colleagues told The Hill.

After waging a tough Senate fight against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, as well as years of gridlock in Congress, McConnell, who has served the Bluegrass State since 1985, hopes to usher in a new era of positivity for Republicans if he wins re-election, The Hill noted of his likely tenure.

"It's his lifetime goal. He is a person of the Senate," McConnell's GOP pal, former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg told The Hill, where he now works as a columnist.

"He's always wanted to be majority leader and this would be a fulfillment of that," Gregg said.

One certain thorn for McConnell is likely to be Sen. Ted Cruz, a fiery first-term lawmaker from Texas who seeks to go after Obama and Democrats full-tilt, CNN noted of problems ahead as Republicans were poised to gain control of the Senate.

Cruz won't commit to supporting McConnell and encouraged his colleagues to fight back as Republicans assume new power in Washington.

"Mitch McConnell tomorrow may win a new title, he may be the next majority leader … but he's also winning some new headaches," noted The Washington Post's Robert Costa in an interview with CNN's John King on Monday.

O'Connell may inherit a majority, but one with a strong "tea party voice that may want to have a more aggressive agenda," even as he wants to compromise, Costa noted of his challenges ahead.

McConnell, on the eve of the election, struck a thoughtful tone in outlining his vision ahead for the Senate, ABC News reported.

"Obviously, we intend to be a responsible governing Republican majority, if the American people give us the chance to do that," he said.

"We're gonna do a combination of pointing out the things that we disagree on and the things we can possibly agree on," McConnell noted of his bipartisan outreach plan, "and be a responsible governing Republican majority."

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