Leadership Update: Wide Open Races?

At the top of the ticket, Reps. Mike Pence and Joe Barton are still grabbing at the heels of current Majority Leader John Boehner, who seemed to have largely escape the blame for Republicans losing the majority last week. Even Pence has said that he views Boehner as the front-runner, arguing that if the election is viewed as a referendum on Boehner rather than renewing conservatives, Boehner will win. National Review opined that Boehner's case "deserves a hearing," while the more conservative Human Events online is ready to dump the current office-holders for reformers Pence and Shadegg.

Barton's mini-media blitz yesterday earned him a spot on MSNBC and an open column in Roll Call advertising his "majority back guarantee." But in in the numbers game, members' support goes unchecked because none of the candidates wants to be caught "doing a Blunt" -- or releasing public support lists before the secret ballot election. Though Pence can tout the endorsement of high profile conservatives like Tom Tancredo and fellow members on the Republican Study Committee, unless he or Barton gains momentum before Friday, Hotline sources say this race is Boehner's to lose.

Who doesn't love Eric Cantor? In addition to his broadcast communication skills, he's also "the kind of guy you want your sister to bring home," according to one senior GOP aide. Roll Call reports Cantor could have the brains, braun and support to be the next Republican Whip. But his loyalty to Blunt -- another one of his endearing qualities -- trumps his and/or his supporters ambitions.

The Draft Cantor movement might not materialize by Friday's secret ballot elections, but it's also indicative of one of the more competitive races on the leadership ballot. The Republican Whip race pits Blunt against Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) in an old vs. new school conservative match similar to the top of the ballot. But for Republicans who want some sense that they need a fresh conservative face, will a good showing by Boehner at the top of the ticket boost Shadegg's outsider status down the ballot?

For NRCC Chair, Rep. Pete Sessions can have bragging rights for being the only Republican to release a public support list with 47 names, including 19 signatures from home state Texas. Considered by many to be the most open race on the ballot, Hotline sources say there's no clear frontrunner between Sessions, Reps. Phil English and Tom Reynolds, and it's almost certain this race will head to a second round of voting.

For conference chair, Rep. Dan Lungren announced his bid in an already crowded field with Reps. Adam Putnam, Marsha Blackburn and Jack Kingston. No frontrunner in this race so far, though Kingston put his stump on YouTube yesterday (it's also scheduled to get time on CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon) and Blackburn is pressing her sales pitch that she can craft the GOP message, even noting that her gender might help the GOP close the "widening gender gap" in last week's election.

And even further down the ballot... The only candidate for Conference Secretary Rep. John Carter (R-TX) has released a list of 113 public supporters.

House Republicans will vote by secret ballot 8am Friday down the ballot and ending with NRCC Chair. As always, candidates with the lowest vote totals are removed from the ballot until Republicans reach a majority on a candidate [SHIRA TOEPLITZ].

Democrats: Pelosi's Workin' It

Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi and political consiglieri Rep. George Miller spent the afternoon twisting the arms of colleagues who haven't expressed a majority leader preference yet. That Pelosi would be willing to stick her neck out for Rep. John Murtha astonishes many of her allies. A top union political official called it "amazing" and worried that Republicans might make Murtha an ethics poster boy the way Democrats did to ex-Rep. Tom DeLay.

Others wondered what would happen if Hoyer won... and whether Pelosi could best have shown her loyalty to Murtha and her fidelity to the smooth running of her caucus by simply staying out. Pelosi loyalists continue to insist that Murtha deserves the job and Rep. Steny Hoyer doesn't; that Murtha better represents the thrust of Democratic Party energy; that reports about Murtha's ethically challenged past and lobbyist-tied present are overwrought and incorrect; that incoming freshman need to know who's in charge. That last point unites critics and admirers of Pelosi. They see her endorsement as an experiment, of sorts, to test just how strong a hold she has over her caucus.

Today, Murtha unveiled the endorsement of ex-Sen. Max Cleland. Writes Cleland: "Congressman Murtha has proven time and again that he possesses the skills and acumen necessary to speak for our caucus."

And Hoyer distributed the names of 33 more Blue Dog Democratic supporters in the House.

Earlier, in response to New York Times and Washington Post articles questioning his ethics, Murtha complained about being "swift-boated."

And Hoyer, disturbed that the press seems to think there is daylight between him and Murtha on Iraq, said that "Any representation that Congressman Hoyer endorses a ‘stay-the-course’ strategy or advocates sending more troops to Iraq is wrong" and distributed joint letters to the president he and Pelosi, among others, signed.

Murtha's spokesman responded with a withering statement: ""Instead of uniting with our Minority Leader on Iraq, Steny Hoyer issued a statement one year ago in which he said that the Iraq policy proposed by Jack Murtha and supported by Leader Pelosi would have been disastrous to our national security." [MARC AMBINDER].