Here's your Election Central guide to the intraparty wars going on between ambtious GOPers battling for leadership slots in the wake of Tuesday's disastrous loss and the (sometimes forced) retirement of much of the 109th Congress' GOP leadership. The jockeying reflects an intense debate about why the GOP lost on Tuesday and what it must do to move forward. Elections are set for next week. View our guide after the jump.

The Sentate

Senate Minority Leader

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the current Senate Majority Whip, is expected to run unopposed for the position. For background on McConnell, check out the "McConnell Machine" series from the Lexington Herald Leader and this recent profile from the Washington Monthly.

Senate Minority Whip

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is claiming that he has enough votes sewn up to take the position, but formerly ousted Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) has also been lobbying hard for the position.

Alexander represents the wing of the party that believes the GOP lost the election because they drifted from their core small government principles. "We've (Republicans) drifted from our core values," Alexander told the Associated Press. "We haven't gotten control on entitlement spending. We've forgotten that we're opposed to the idea of Washington knows best." Lott, who was forced to step down as Majority Leader after speaking nostalgicly of Strum Thurmond's run for President on a segregationist ticket, is likely to make nostalgic noises about restoring Reagan-era conservatism, as he blames the current leadership's abandonment of conservative values for the party's poor electoral showing.

Senate Republican Conference Chair

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the No. 4 leader as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, is the only candidate to emerge thus far for the No. 3 position held by Sen. Rick Santorum, who failed to gain re-election on Tuesday. Kyl is considered an ultraconservative. When faced with Hurricane Katrina's derailment of his pet project of repealling the Estate Tax, Kyl unsuccessfully pushed Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to find victims of the disaster who would be paying the tax in order to tie it to the disaster in New Orleans.

The House

House Minority Leader

By far the most contentious leadership election, the battle for House Minority Leader pits current Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) as the status quo candidate against conservative upstart Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has also announced he is running for the post, though he is considered a longshot. Republicans have begun to indicate who they support in the race with Rep. Peter King (R-NY) throwing his support behind Boehner while conservative activists David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth both support Pence. Evangelical leaders James Dobson and Tom Minnery have both indicated a preference for Pence as well. Dennis Hastert, the current Speaker of the House, has said that he will not seek a leadership position.

House Minority Whip

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the current Majority Whip, would like to continue in that position in the minority, but Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) will challenge him from the right. In the race to replace Tom Delay as Majority Leader last year, the National Review endorsed Shadegg, describing him in contrast to his opponents as " a member of the class of 1994 who never lost the conservative, reformist spirit of that watershed year." Shadegg was running against Blunt, who is considered a face of the party establishment that has been weighed down by corruption scandals. Shadegg is receiving enthusiastic support from conservative activists at Red State and Townhall.

House Republican Conference Chair

With current Conference Chair Rep. Deborah Pryce declining to re-seek the position, Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), the current chairman of the House Policy Committee, is seeking the spot, but he will face competition from Rep. Martha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA). Putnam, who has a 0% rating from NARAL and supports requiring that schools allow prayer, would please the conservative Christian bloc of the party. Blackburn is considered a "rising star" in the party, who has already managed to gain a leadership position as assistant Republican whip, despite only having served for two terms. Kingston represents a move to return to the principles the party embodied when they took control of Congress in 1994, saying in a written statement that the election's "results are a call to renewal for the Republican Party. As someone who was here the last time we regained a Republican majority, I know the challenges that lie ahead."

Human Events has collected the House leadership candidates statements on their bids here.

Republican National Committee

Chair

With current RNC chairman Ken Mehlman stepping down, the prominent position as the party's figurehead is open. The Washington Times has reported that Michael Steele, who recently lost his bid to represent Maryland in the Senate, has been offered the position, though it is uncertain if he will accept it. Both Mary Matalin, a former adviser to Vice President Cheney, and Maria Cino, currently deputy secretary of transportation, have been floated as possible successors as well.