Thune, of South Dakota, beat out Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida in a secret ballot election to replace Mitch McConnell.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune will be the new Republican Senate leader and the majority leader of the upper chamber in the new Congress. In January, he will succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history.