WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ousted Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott is plotting a return to the Senate's center of power with a quiet but intense campaign against Sen. Lamar Alexander for the vote-counting job of minority whip.

Alexander, who has been campaigning for the post for 18 months, said in a statement that he has commitments of support from most of the members of the GOP caucus, which was meeting Wednesday to choose new leaders.

"We need some new faces and some fresh themes," Alexander, R-Tenn., told reporters.

Lott, R-Miss., relished his deal-making duties as majority leader but stepped down in 2002 under pressure over remarks that were interpreted as racially insensitive. He has long hinted at making a comeback bid.

With the midterm elections finished and another candidate for the post, Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, failing to win re-election, Lott is casting himself as the more experienced candidate and the better choice for a job that will be crucial in a Democratic-controlled Senate split 51-49.