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.