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.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he would step down from his leadership post earlier this year, ending his historic ...

A look at the three candidates: Thune, 63, defeated then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004 after arguing during the campaign that Daschle had lost his South Dakota roots during his years in ...