Sen. Joni Ernst's rise marks the first time in eight years a woman has joined the Senate GOP leadership. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Congress Ernst joins GOP Senate leadership Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer were also re-elected to lead their respective parties.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa on Wednesday beat Nebraska's Deb Fischer to win the Republican Senate Conference vice chairmanship, the only contested leadership race in a Senate that will return the bulk of the parties' leaders.

Ernst's win over Fischer marks the first time in eight years a woman is in the Senate GOP leadership. Senators said they were not provided with a vote total, and Fischer quickly moved on and told reporters she's going to continue to be "very active" in the caucus' work. Ernst, who is up for reelection in 2020 and is expected to face a credible Democratic challenge, said she will focus on sharing the GOP's record of "prosperity" with her constituents while in Washington.


Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were reelected by voice vote to lead their respective parties, according to sources familiar with the decisions.

Several other significant but expected moves took place in the GOP caucus, mostly involving promotions for existing Senate leaders. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) will now be party whip, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) will be the conference chairman, the No. 3 job, and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) will be the Republican Policy chairman. Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is retiring and will be replaced in the role by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as the most senior GOP senator and in the line of presidential succession.

And Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) will chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the next cycle, working to protect Ernst and outgoing NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner of Colorado, among other vulnerable senators. On the Democratic side, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) has spoken to Schumer about chairing the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, but no final decision has been made, according to multiple Democratic sources.

McConnell's reelection makes him the GOP leader for his seventh term. Schumer will begin his second term as minority leader next year.

No one opposed Schumer vocally, including Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who had said during her campaign she would not support Schumer, according to two senators. Those senators said they did not hear anyone object to Schumer’s nomination.

“Had there been a challenger for minority leader, I would have considered new leadership and a fresh perspective,” Sinema said in a statement. “I will continue to put Arizona over party.”

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, who is term-limited, is leaving the elected leadership but will still be a "counsel" to McConnell. Fischer is currently a counsel but said she was unsure whether she will stay in that role in the next Congress.

The sprawling Democratic leadership team does not have term limits like the GOP and will remain unchanged, other than at the DSCC position. The top rungs of the team will include: Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Assistant Democratic Leader Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Other members of the leadership team are Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

Marianne Levine contributed to this report.