Missouri Senate Democrats chose a new Minority Leader Thursday.

Intro: Missouri Senate Democrats chose a new Minority Leader Thursday. St. Louis Democratic Senator Jeff Smith says he is delighted with the choice.

Brenda Martens has more from Jefferson City.

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Senate Democrats chose Independence Senator Victor Callahan to represent them as Senate Minority Leader.

Senator Jeff Smith says he believes Callahan will effectively work across party lines.

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Description: I think he'll be a tough negotiator, but at the end of the day he's a pragmatic guy and wants to move Missouri forward, and I think he'll strike the right balance of holding fast to Democratic principles and yet working in a bipartisan way.

Callahan says he looks forward to representing the diverse views of the Democratic party.

Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Brenda Martens.

Intro: New government means new leaders in the Missouri Senate.

Brenda Martens has more from the State Capitol.

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Democratic Senator Victor Callahan was chosen as the new Senate Minority leader.

Callahan sometimes votes more conservatively than other Democrats in the Missouri Senate.

While St. Louis Democratic Senator Jeff Smith's political views do not always line up with Callahan's, he fully supports the choice for new Minority Leader.

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Description: I'm not concerned about some minor ideological differences. They've manifested themselves in sessions past and I'm sure they'll percolate to the surface again, but I know that Victor will be an honest broker and ably represent all of us.

Smith says Callahan has been a mentor to him in the past few years.

The previous Minority Leader is St. Louis Senator Maida Coleman term limited out.

Reporting from Jefferson City, I'm Brenda Martens.

Intro: Missouri's new Senate Minority Leader says he will try to represent his party to the best of his ability.

Brenda Martens has more from the State Capitol.

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Senate Democrats chose Independence Senator Victor Callahan Thursday as the new Senate Minority Leader.

Callahan says he will put aside his personal views when it comes to leading the Senate Democrats.

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Description: We have to understand that we've always been a party that has represented small farmers, labor unions, I mean, we've always had a great diversity in our party and as their leader, I have to reflect that.

Callahan says Democrats are set to tackle state issues and says he hopes Republicans are ready as well.

Reporting from Jefferson City, I'm Brenda Martens.

Intro: With the election season over with, Senate Democrats met Thursday in Jefferson City to choose their new Minority Leader.

Brenda Martens has more from the State Capitol.

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OutCue: SOC Democrats chose Independence Senator Victor Callahan to represent them as Minority Leader in the State Senate. Callahan says his often-times conservative leaning views will not interfere with accurately representing his party.

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Description: Regardless of my personal beliefs, this is not any major policy shift, and I, obviously, in a leadership role, would have to represent the views of my caucus whether they're my personal views or not.

Callahan replaces outgoing St. Louis Senator Maida Coleman as Minority Leader. Reporting from Jefferson City, I'm Brenda Martens.