[JURIST] In a close vote Thursday, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) [official website] beat out stand-in GOP chief Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) [official website] to win election as GOP House Majority Leader [official website], vowing to move the party away from recent ethics and corruption scandals. Boehner, who beat Blunt 122-109 on a second ballot, said that Republicans would now recommit to "restore the trust between Congress and the American people." Boehner takes over from Rep. Tom DeLay, who formally stepped down [JURIST report] last month while still caught up in a Texas criminal case over campaign finance. One of Boehner's first challenges will be to limit the political fallout from the corruption scandal involving former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive], who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud charges in January. AP has more.