Rep. Kevin McCarthy was voted the next House Majority Leader on Thursday as fellow Republicans shuffled their leadership in the wake of Rep. Eric Cantor's primary defeat in Virginia. McCarthy, 49, triumphed over Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho to continue his rapid rise through the leadership ranks. The totals of the secret ballot election were not immediately disclosed. The California representative had been serving as his party's whip, or chief vote counter, since Republicans took control of Congress in 2011. His ascension set up a three-way election to fill his current spot in the leadership, involving Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.
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Eric Cantor, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, lost his primary last week in an upset election
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The following day he resigned from his House Majority Leader position, effective July 31, and threw his support behind the no. 3 Republican in the House, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, to replace him
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McCarthy was elected Majority Leader today, leaving the Majority Whip position vacant
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Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise was subsequently elected by the his colleagues to become the party's next whip
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After November's congressional elections, House Republicans will select a leadership team all over again
In the end, @placeholder, a Louisiana Congressman who won his seat in a special election in 2008, knocked out his opponents in one round.
Steve Scalise
Steve Scalise