John Thune reelected as Senate GOP leader despite midterm angst

Senate Majority Leader John Thune emerged from a third huddle with Senate Republicans on Tuesday with his leadership job intact.

Why it Matters: Thune (R-S.D.) locked up support from his conference just one week after losing the majority in a generational blue wave.

But a group of GOP senators fought to delay the leadership election at least a week.
The delay efforts ultimately failed 31-15, according to people familiar with the private vote tally.

Zoom out: The Senate GOP's entire leadership team will remain almost entirely unchanged going into the minority next Congress.

One exception: Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) will be the new National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, with Sen. Tim Scott stepping down from leading Senate Republicans' campaign arm.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) will continue as whip, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) as conference chair, Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) as Policy Committee Chair and James Lankford (R-Okla.) as Vice Chair of the Republican Conference.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.