The clear front-runner to replace Sen. Lott (R-MS) as Republican leader is Tennessee's Bill Frist, the Senate's only physician. A political novice elected to the Senate on his first run for office in 1994, Frist has enjoyed a rapid rise during his brief legislative career. And as NPR's Julie Rovner reports, having a health expert at the helm of a Senate that's expected to take on a number of high-profile medical issues doesn't hurt, either.
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