Sen. Lamar Alexander lost a race for the Senate's No. 2 post on Wednesday by a single vote.
Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the one-time Senate majority leader, won the post of minority whip by a vote of 25-24.
Sen. Alexander earlier thought he had enough votes lined up, but Sen. Lott was able to nail down a bare majority after a night of lobbying.
Sen. Alexander said Wednesday after the vote, "Senators, like most Americans do, like comebacks. Sen. Lott has conclusively proven he’s a better vote counter than I am.
"While I would have enjoyed serving the caucus as whip, this gives me the independence to devote all of my time to serving Tennesseans and focusing on the issues I care the most about: education, energy, job creation and the environment.”
Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke released the following statement after the GOP vote:
“Tennesseans learned two things today about Senate Republicans: they don’t trust Lamar Alexander’s leadership and they don’t learn from their mistakes. As Congress prepares for a new era of Democratic control, Senate Republicans have turned to Trent Lott—the same Trent Lott that resigned in disgrace just four years ago from his position as majority leader for making racially insensitive remarks—for old-style leadership. A new day may be dawning in Washington, but it looks like we’re dealing with the same not-so-Grand Old Party. It also looks like we can’t count on Lamar Alexander to effect any meaningful change in his caucus.”