(CNN) House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip Wednesday morning during a baseball practice in Virginia.

Scalise, a five-term Republican from Louisiana, rose quickly through the ranks of leadership early in his career.

In 2012, he won a hard-fought battle to lead the Republican Study Committee -- at the time, the most conservative bloc of Republicans in the House. Later, when then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was upset in a 2014 primary race, Scalise ran and won the spot as House majority whip -- the third-ranking Republican in the House.

Inside Congress, Scalise has been described as a pragmatic conservative and has helped bridge the widening rifts between stark conservatives and more traditional Republicans.

As the House majority whip, Scalise is tasked with tracking other Republican members and ensuring there are enough votes to win approval of key priorities, like repealing Obamacare.

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