WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans met Tuesday to discuss their future and were expected to reconvene in the afternoon as they decide whether to keep South Dakota Sen. John Thune as their leader. The meetings come just a week after steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority.

Thune is expected to be reelected in the secret ballot election, given that he remains popular with his GOP colleagues and is so far running unopposed. But senators left the closed-door meeting after two hours of discussions with no resolution on a way forward after an election wipeout that cost them at least seven Senate seats.

“We want to be thoughtful and do the right thing,” said West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice as the meeting broke up. He said no obvious alternative had emerged, but “there is a legitimate argument that, good gracious, if we lost as badly as we lost, why would we continue on with the same leadership?”

At the same time, the current GOP leadership “didn’t cause this problem to happen,” Justice said. “They do a good job.”

The angst comes as the party is just beginning to reckon with what the election results mean. Two additional Senate races remain uncalled in Alaska and Mississippi that could further deplete their numbers.

Several senators had called on the Republican leadership to delay the elections, which include contests for other party leaders as well and are held in the small Old Senate Chamber. Senators could still seek a vote to postpone the elections for a week or more when they reconvene Tuesday afternoon.