Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to make South Dakota Sen. John Thune their leader, the first new person to helm the conference in nearly two decades.

Thune, 63, will take the reins from Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has led Republicans in Congress' upper chamber for 18 years, and will oversee the first GOP Senate majority in four years.

The South Dakota senator, who is in his fourth term in the Senate, beat out Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Florida Sen. Rick Scott for the position, despite several allies of President-elect Donald Trump expressing their favor for the latter.

In a statement after the vote, Thune said he was "extremely honored" to have garnered the support of his colleagues and vowed to help implement Trump's proposals next year.

"... I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House," Thune added. "This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda, and our work starts today."

The move elevates a top deputy of McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Thune, who has promised to work closely with Trump despite differences the two have had over the years, will be a crucial part of the incoming president’s efforts to push through his policy agenda.

Like McConnell, Thune hails from the Republican Party’s more traditional wing. He has held the Republican whip position — the No. 2 in party leadership — since 2019.

At times, Thune has countered Trump’s wishes for Congress, and he broke publicly with Trump over the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he called “inexcusable.” He also endorsed his colleague, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, over Trump in the Republican presidential primaries.

But in recent months, Thune has realigned with Trump, visiting him in his Florida home, and the two have been consulting on how to implement the incoming president’s agenda. Thune told The Associated Press over the summer that he views their potential relationship as a professional one. If they both win their elections, Thune said, “we’ve got a job to do.”

Well liked and a respected communicator, Thune has been perceived as a front-runner for much of the year. As the No. 2 Republican, he took over for McConnell for several weeks last year when he was on a medical leave. He is also a former chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Thune’s win is all the more extraordinary because of his 2004 election to the Senate – defeating then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle after arguing during the campaign that Daschle had lost his South Dakota roots during his years in Democratic leadership. Twenty years later, Thune will become majority leader himself.

As he geared up to run for leader, Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues. According to his aides, he raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, including a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senate’s main campaign arm.

This year, though, Thune and Trump have talked frequently on the phone and Thune visited the then-GOP candidate at his home in Florida.