Republicans choose Scalise as House party whip

House Majority Whip candidate Steve Scalise (R) arrives with Rep. Patrick McHenry (L) for House Republican leadership elections in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 19, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans elected Steve Scalise of Louisiana on Thursday as the caucus' next whip, the No. 3 spot in the party's House leadership, a Republican aide said. Scalise defeated two other candidates, Representatives Peter Roskam and Marlin Stutzman, to clinch the victory. He will succeed Representative Kevin McCarthy, earlier elected to the position of majority leader, the House's No. 2 Republican, when Eric Cantor steps down on July 31. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Peter Cooney)