Sen. Brandon Smith

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FRANKFORT – Republicans in the Kentucky Senate elected new leadership on Tuesday, including a new president in Sen. Robert Stivers, and Sen. Brandon Smith as majority whip.

Stivers, of Manchester, was first elected to the Senate in 1997, and previously served as the majority floor leader in the Republican-controlled Senate. He was elected as president over fellow Sen. Bob Leeper of Paducah.

The Senate president’s position opened earlier this year when former Sen. David Williams, of Burkesville, resigned to accept a circuit judgeship following his appointment by Gov. Steve Beshear.

Sen. Brandon Smith was elected to his first leadership position in the Senate on Tuesday as majority whip. He served several terms in the Kentucky House before his election to the Senate in 2008, and currently serves as co-chair of the Senate committee on Natural Resources and Environment, and also sits on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

"It is an honor to serve the 30th district in a leadership role and to become a voice for all of Kentucky,” Smith said in a statement released on Wednesday. “I am humbled that my colleagues have selected me for this opportunity.”

Sen. Smith will officially take office at the beginning of the 2013 General Assembly Session on Jan. 8.

Also elected to a leadership position on Tuesday was Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown. He will assume the role of majority floor leader.