WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy easily won an internal party election to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, handing the seven-term Californian a familiar role of building the party back to a majority as well as protecting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

With Speaker Paul Ryan retiring and the House majority gone, the race for minority leader was McCarthy’s to lose Wednesday. But rarely has a leader of a party that suffered a major defeat — Democrats wiped out Republicans in GOP-held suburban districts from New York to McCarthy’s own backyard — been so handily rewarded.

Continue reading WASHINGTON | Seeking a 2020 comeback, House Gop Elects Mccarthy as leader at STL.News.