By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff

Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, won a second term Wednesday as the top House Republican by defeating Dan Lungren of California.

Boehner will lead a team that is more conservative than the outgoing roster of GOP leaders after embracing members of the Republican Study Committee for key positions.

Eric Cantor of Virginia was chosen minority whip and Mike Pence of Indiana became House Republican Conference chairman. The two RSC members were unopposed for those posts and had Boehner’s backing.

“It’s very civil in there,” said Lincoln Diaz-Balart , R-Fla., as House Republicans assembled to start organizing for the 111th Congress. Participants said there were pointed questions about the future of the GOP after Boehner and Lungren gave opening remarks of about 10 minutes apiece.

“Some of it is esoteric. They are asking about everything from earmarks to plans for the future,” said Trent Franks , R-Ariz .

Boehner had been a strong favorite in the race for leader. Zach Wamp of Tennessee said Lungren had acknowledged in his remarks that Boehner probably had the votes to defeat him, but he said he wanted to have a discussion of issues.

In prepared remarks, Boehner said that he would emphasize limited government and other traditional conservative themes as House Republicans try to regain dozens of seats — and the majority — they lost over the past two election cycles.

“From the Northeast to the Deep South, there is a distrust of big government that will only intensify in the months ahead,” Boehner said.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity ahead of us. We’ve been given a chance to break with the mistakes of the past and redefine ourselves as the party of reform,” he said.

“I wasn’t born a Republican; I grew up in a working-class family of Kennedy Democrats,” he said. “I didn’t know I was a Republican until I looked up one day and realized Washington was at odds with everything I believed.”

Boehner’s reconfigured leadership team will be dominated by members of the RSC, his party’s conservative faction, which accounts for more than 90 of the at least 175 GOP members in the 111th Congress.

Cantor was elected by voice vote to succeed Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, who announced after the Nov. 4 elections that he would not seek another term in the No. 2 leadership post.

Pence was elected by voice vote as conference chairman, replacing Adam H. Putnam of Florida. Like Blunt, Putnam chose to step down after the elections.