1st female Senate majority leader elected in North Carolina

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — The North Carolina Senate will have its first female majority leader.

Senate Republicans meeting on Monday elected Sen. Kathy Harrington to the post for the session that begins in January.

The Gaston County legislator is the first woman in that position since the chamber created it over 40 years ago.

The caucus also agreed unanimously to nominate Sen. Phil Berger of Rockingham County as its choice for Senate president pro tempore, which is the chamber’s most powerful position.

Berger has held the post since 2011. Harrington will enter her sixth Senate term and recently has been one of the chamber’s top budget writers.