Sen. John Thune on Wednesday won a three-way race among Republicans to become the new Senate majority leader in the next Congress.

The South Dakota Republican, 63, beat Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida for the top Senate GOP leadership post. He replaces 82-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who decided earlier this year to step down from leadership after a record-breaking 18 years serving as GOP leader.