North Carolina Democrats ousted a political giant from their leadership ranks Monday night, electing a rising star in the party, Sen. Sydney Batch, to replace Sen. Dan Blue as Senate minority leader.

North Carolina Democrats ousted a political giant from Senate leadership ranks Monday night, electing a rising star in the party, Sydney Batch, to replace Dan Blue as the minority leader.

Batch will replace Dan Blue, a veteran legislator who has had a lengthy tenure serving in both the House and Senate, and has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2014.

North Carolina Democrats electing a rising star in the party, Sen. Sydney Batch, to replace Sen. Dan Blue as Senate minority leader.

Democrats in the state Senate elected a new minority leader Monday. State Sen. Sydney Batch will replace longtime state Sen. Dan Blue as minority leader next year in the chamber, where Republicans recently retained a supermajority.