Dem Leadership Update: Ugly And Uglier

With 24 hours to go before House leadership elections, the race is boiling down to two main storylines.

The first involves a 26-year-old story that began to emerge once again yesterday: Rep. John Murtha's past. After being a little too involved in Abscam for his own good (some accounts have former Speaker Tip O'Neill personally bailing Murtha out of trouble) and what Washington Post's Marcus calls a "one-man earmarking factory," Murtha has a number of good gov't types on his case, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Gov't. The Hill even reports that, because of his penchant for doling out earmarks, some defense industry lobbyists hope he loses and retains his chairmanship, this time in the majority.

The second continues from 11/12, when Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi injected herself in the race. While her inital letter backing Murtha was initially seen as simple loyalty, but now, she's making phone calls and button-holing members for their support. Baltimore Sun's Hay Brown reports the speaker-in-waiting is playing hardball: She summoned Rep.-elect Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to her office to ask why Gillibrand was supporting current Dem whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and, completely coincidentally, asked for Gillibrand's committee preferences.

Pelosi's efforts have gotten attention throughout the caucus as, according to Hay Brown, Hoyer "fought to hang on to his support" 11/14. Uncommitted Rep.-elect Tim Walz (D-MN): "To be honest, I was waiting for the Speaker. When the Speaker speaks, you listen. I take that into heavy consideration" (Hearn, The Hill, 11/15).

According to Hotline vote-counting, Hoyer maintains a big lead, 90-32, in public support. But with approximately 117 votes needed to pull off the win (it wasn't immediately clear if some House candidates in contested elections would be allowed to vote), will the other 30 votes be there for Hoyer? Complete list of publicly committed members after the jump.

By the way, Pelosi did at least one good thing for caucus unity: She convinced Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) to drop her bid for Whip, leaving Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), currently the Dem caucus chair, a clear shot at the post. [REID WILSON]

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.

The following have declared their support for Hoyer:

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Rep.-elect Mike Arcuri (D-NY)
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA)
Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL)
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY)
Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL)
Rep.-elect Nancy Boyda (D-KS)
Rep.-elect Bruce Braley (D-IA)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
Rep.-elect Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN)
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
Rep.-elect Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep.-elect Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Rep. Bob Ethridge (D-NC)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Rep.-elect. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX)
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-MI)
Rep.-elect Phil Hare(D-IL)
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD)
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)
Rep.-elect Baron Hill (D-IN)
Rep.-elect Paul Hodes (D-NH)
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR)
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL)
Rep.-elect Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)
Rep.-elect Ron Klein (D-FL)
Rep.-elect Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
Rep.-elect Tim Mahoney (D-FL)
Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA)
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
Rep.-elect Harry Mitchell (D-AZ)
Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS)
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep.-elect Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
Rep. David Price (D-NC)
Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. John Salazar (D-CO)
Rep.-elect Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Rep.-elect Heath Shuler (D-NC)
Rep.-elect Albio Sires (D-NJ)*
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO)
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR)
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC)
Rep. John Tanner (D-TN)
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep.-elect Peter Welch (D-VT)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Rep. Al Wynn (D-MD)
Rep.-elect John Yarmuth (D-KY)

Members who have declared their support for Murtha:

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Rep.-elect Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Rep. Tim Holden (D- PA)
Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (R-PA)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS)
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)

Posted at 01:30 PM

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November 15, 2006

Dem Leadership Update: Ugly And Uglier

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