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House Republicans this morning voted to return two of their top officials to high-ranking leadership posts in the next Congress, despite challenges from representatives who said the party's defeat at the polls 10 days ago warranted putting new people at the helm.

Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the current majority leader, was elected 168 to 27 over challenger Mike Pence (R-Ind.) to serve as minority leader in the Democratic-controlled Congress that will convene in January. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas received one vote.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was chosen as minority whip over Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), 137 to 57, with one abstention.

Boehner will succeed outgoing Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) as the top Republican leader in the next House. Hastert did not seek a leadership post.

Pence had mounted a conservative challenge to Boehner after the elections, saying Republicans must rein in runaway spending and curb the mounting federal debt in order to return to power in future election cycles.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) yesterday was elected majority leader for the next Congress over strong opposition from Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), exposing a deep political divide even before the party takes control.

Some commentators had suggested that a Boehner victory today would open the door for Shadegg to edge out Blunt, a longtime member of the GOP House leadership and the current majority whip.

They interpreted heavy Republican losses on Election Day as a call for a new approach, and speculated that House members may choose someone from outside the leadership for the No. 2 position to demonstrate that they understood that message. Instead, the vote could be seen as a continuation of the existing leadership, albeit without Hastert.

"Outside the Beltway, people were expecting us to give ourselves a little more of a wakeup call than this," said Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, a conservative reformer who had backed both Pence and Shadegg. "There simply wasn't the mood to change."

But Rep. Mark Kirk, a moderate from Illinois, said Boehner retained the confidence of most Republicans because he replaced disgraced majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) less than a year ago, and has called for a return to core Republican