Now that the costly Romney presidential defeat is history and Republican Party soul-searchers have blanched as they stare at the risk of extinction, House GOP members Wednesday took a first step toward averting doom.

They elected a chairman of the House Republican Conference with a rare profile for the party that struggled to attract female voters: a young mother from the Northwest, charming, hard-working for her district, with street cred among conservatives. She’s pro-life, a defense hawk and has a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union.