GOP picks Pennsylvania’s first female Senate majority leader
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s state Senate voted Thursday to select the chamber’s first female majority leader and promote their majority leader of the past six years. Third-term Sen. Kim Ward of Westmoreland County will replace Sen. Jake Corman as majority leader. Ward, who has chaired committees that handle transportation and gambling issues, was first elected in 2008. Corman, the state Senate’s Republican majority leader since 2015, will fill the empty post of president pro tempore when the Legislature’s new session starts in January. In the House, minority Democrats were voting Thursday to replace their floor leader, Frank Dermody of Allegheny County, who conceded his reelection bid earlier this week.