Colorado Senate Republicans unanimously chose Senator Cleave Simpson as their new minority leader Thursday evening.

Simpson, an Alamosa Republican who was first elected in 2020, will replace former Senator Paul Lundeen, who resigned Monday to lead the American Excellence Foundation. He will lead the 12-member Republican caucus in the chamber.

“I look forward to continue what we’ve been working on. The challenges are pretty immense and steep, and Colorado deserves a strong voice from our perspective,” he said. “I think we are poised as a group to make a significant going forward.”

Democrats, with 23 members, hold a majority in the Senate.

Simpson was the assistant minority leader. The caucus unanimously chose Senator Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican, to replace him in that position.

A vacancy committee meeting has not yet been scheduled to fill Lundeen’s Senate seat.

The Legislature is not in session and will reconvene in January, unless there is a special session called before then.