House Leadership Races: The 800-Lb. Gorilla Weighs In
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced her support for Rep. John Murtha's (D-PA) Maj Leader campaign last p.m. In a letter, Pelosi writes: "I salute your courageous leadership that changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election."
According to various media accounts and Hotline sources, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) leads the race with 39 public commitments to Murtha's 15. Neither camp has released a public list of supporters. To see Pelosi's full letter backing Murtha and a list of members who have publicly declared their support, skip past the jump.
Meanwhile, Pelosi put the kibosh on Rep. Jane Harman's (D-CA) hopes of chairing the Intel cmte, meaning that Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) is the next-most senior Dem in line to take the chair. The move, according to Washington Post's Weisman, is a decision "pregnant with personal animus."
On the GOP side, Energy and Commerce Cmte chair Joe Barton (R-TX) declared he would be a candidate for House Min Leader and will hold a presser just after noon today to discuss his bid. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), meanwhile, gets the star treatment from the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard and the blogosphere (see today's Blogometer for more on that), though current Maj Leader John Boehner (R-OH), say many, remains the favorite.
In the Whip race, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) seems to be the crowd favorite, while Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) may find his defense of earmarks last week an albatross. Still, says Bob Novak, the conventional wisdom remains that while Shadegg and Pence are close allies, "at best, only one of them can win."
The race for NRCC chair is getting crowded, as Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) announced his candidacy today, joining Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Phil English (R-PA), both of whom announced 11/10.
And maybe those LG Michael Steele for RNC chair rumors aren't so far-fetched. Steele, 11/12 on C-SPAN: "We're looking at it but haven't had any serious conversations as of yet." Asked if he's interested in the job: "I think I would be, after going through what I went through in the last election, trying to out-move, out-run the tsunami that came on Tuesday." Steele also appeared on CNN's "American Morning" this a.m. [REID WILSON]
Pelosi's Letter:
Dear Jack,
Thank you for your letter requesting my support for your candidacy for Majority Leader in the 110th Congress.
As you know so well, for the past 24 months I have done nothing but focus on winning the House, working weekends, morning, noon and night, traveling to dozens of states and cities on behalf of our candidates to assure we had the resources to implement the excellent plan Rahm Emanuel developed.
Working with all the groups in our Caucus over the past two years, we focused the national debate around issues that clearly differentiated Democrats and from Republicans, and put us squarely on the side of the American people. We challenged President Bush on his unsound scheme to privatize Social Security, and we prevailed on behalf of America's seniors.
We repudiated the Republican "culture of corruption" that has turned the People's House into an auction house for special interests. And of course, we challenged President Bush and the Republicans on the Iraq war.
With respect to Iraq in particular, I salute your courageous leadership that changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election. It was surely a dark day for the Bush Administration when you spoke truth to power. Your leadership gave so many Americans, including respected military leaders, the encouragement to voice their own disapproval at a failed policy that weakens our military and makes stability in that region even more difficult to achieve. The enthusiastic response of Americans all across this nation gave an enormous lift to our Democratic efforts, and your unsurpassed personal solicitations produced millions of dollars which were new to the effort. Those resources made a huge difference and particularly for the candidates on whose behalf you campaigned..
Your strong voice for national security, the war on terror and Iraq provides genuine leadership for our party, and I count on you to continue to lead on these vital issues. For this and for all you have done for Democrats in the past and especially this last year, I am pleased to support your candidacy for Majority Leader for the 110th Congress. As we move forward and work together on the urgent questions of Iraq, the war on terrorism, strengthening our military to meet 21st century challenges, improving our national security and rebuilding our international relations, and honoring our commitment to our veterans, your presence in the leadership of our party would add a knowledgeable and respected voice to our Democratic team.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
The List
Although neither Hoyer nor Murtha have released public lists of supporters at this time, the following has been compiled from members independently announcing their support. Information is Hotline sources, except when * denotes Roll Call reporting.
The following have declared their support for Hoyer:
- Rep.-elect Mike Acruri (D-NY)
- Rep.-elect Nancy Boyda (D-KS)
- Rep.-elect Bruce Braley (D-IA)
- Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Rep.-elect Kathy Castor (D-FL)
- Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL)
- Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
- Rep.-elect Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
- Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN)
- Rep.-elect Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
- Rep.-elect. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Rep.-elect Phil Hare(D-IL)
- Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD)
- Rep.-elect Baron Hill (D-IN)
- Rep.-elect Paul Hodes (D-NH)
- Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
- Rep.-elect Hank Johnson (D-GA)
- Rep.-elect Ron Klein (D-FL)
- Rep.-elect Nick Lampson (D-TX)
- Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
- Rep.-elect Tim Mahoney (D-FL)
- Rep.-elect Harry Mitchell (D-AZ)*
- Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
- Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN)
- Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
- Rep.-elect Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)
- Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)
- Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
- Rep.-elect Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
- Rep.-elect Heath Shuler (D-NC)
- Rep.-elect Albio Sires (D-NJ)*
- Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO)
- Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
- Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL)
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)*
- Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
- Rep.-elect John Yarmuth (D-KY)
- Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)
- Rep. Norm Dicks (D- WA)
- Rep. Anna Echoo (D-CA)
- Rep. Tim Holden (D- PA)
- Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)
- Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
- Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)*
- Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
- Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
- Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
- Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)
- Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)*
- Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)
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