The chairman of the Indiana Senate's tax committee is becoming the chamber's new majority leader.
Republican Senate President Pro Tem David Long announced Monday that Sen. Brandt Hershman of Lafayette was his pick to fill the Senate's No. 2 position.
Hershman is replacing Connie Lawson, who was appointed Indiana's secretary of state last month by Gov. Mitch Daniels to replace the ousted Charlie White.
Hershman was first elected to the Senate in 2000 will remain chairman of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. He's up for re-election this year in a district that stretches from Boone County near Indianapolis to Jasper County in northwestern Indiana.
Sen. Ryan Mishler of Bremen will replace Hershman as majority whip for the Republicans, who now hold a commanding 37-13 Senate majority.
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