Alexander wins conference chairmanship

Senate Republicans on Thursday elevated Lamar Alexander to the third highest-ranking position within their caucus, handing the first-term Tennessee senator the task of massaging their message during the 2008 election season.

{mosads}In secret balloting, Alexander defeated Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) for chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the No. 3 spot in leadership that spearheads the communications of the caucus. Alexander garnered the support of 31 Senate Republicans while Burr received 16 votes.

Alexander’s victory caps a week of intense lobbying after Minority Whip Trent Lott (Miss.) shook up the Senate GOP leadership team with an unexpected announcement last week that he would leave Congress by year’s end. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) was elected to the whip position, moving one spot up from his post as conference chairman.

After Lott’s announcement, Alexander and a number of his Senate backers moved swiftly to shore up support for the No. 3 position, saying the former governor, presidential candidate and education secretary would craft a winning message to woo independent voters and energize the conservative base. The senator lobbied his colleagues up until the vote, a lesson learned from his loss to Lott last year for the minority whip position when the Mississippi Republican secured a surprising come-from-behind victory.

Alexander and his staff now will hold a series of meetings to fine-tune the message that Republicans will use in their uphill climb to reclaim a Senate majority in 2008.