Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) emerged victorious from the three-way election for Senate majority leader on Nov. 13 alongside the Republican conference’s five other leadership picks.
As the current minority whip and second-ranking Senate Republican, Thune was viewed as a frontrunner in the race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the GOP leader.
The South Dakotan was one of three senators who vied for the top position in a secret ballot election.
After Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) was eliminated from the contest in the first round of voting, Thune defeated Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a 29–24 vote.
Rounding out the new leadership team will be Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) as majority whip; Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) as Republican conference chair; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as Republican Policy Committee chair; Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) as Republican conference vice chair; and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair….