As Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, all eyes are on the three-way contest to replace Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has held the top GOP post for nearly two decades and is stepping down at the end of the year.

U.S. Senate Republicans will gather behind closed doors on Wednesday to pick their next leader in the face of a public pressure campaign by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who favor the long-shot bid of a hardline Trump loyalist.