Cantor Replaced: Rep. Kevin McCarthy Selected as New House Majority Leader

Photo Credit: APIn a GOP leadership shuffle, Republican lawmakers voted Thursday for California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to succeed Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader after Cantor’s unexpected primary defeat last week.

McCarthy, a fourth-term lawmaker who had held the No. 3 GOP position, was elected by secret ballot.

“America is struggling,” he said after the vote. “We’re struggling with a stagnant economy, a failed health care law, and so many are living paycheck to paycheck. They are looking for individuals that put people before politics. I make one promise: I will work every single day to make sure this conference has the courage to lead with the wisdom to listen.”

The day’s second election, to succeed McCarthy as party whip, was a much tighter three-way competition among Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Scalise, 48, scored the victory.

Scalise, who won his seat in a special election in 2008, campaigned as head of the Republican Study Conference, a group of that sometimes serves as a conservative thorn in the side of leadership.

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