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GOP to pick Minnesota Senate leader by month's end

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Dec 16, 2011 at 9:27 am

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota Senate Republicans plan to pick a new majority leader by the end of December after their chief stepped down unexpectedly.

A top GOP senator says the replacement will be selected by Dec. 29, according to caucus bylaws requiring an election within two weeks. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch stunned her colleagues Thursday by announcing she would give up the title immediately and forgo a legislative re-election campaign next fall.

Deputy Majority Geoff Michel was elevated to top post on an interim basis. He hasn't said whether he'll run for the position nor have any other GOP senators announced their intentions.

Koch was the leader for one year after the GOP reversed decades of Democratic rule in the Senate. Republicans have a 37-30 majority.