A defiant Rep. Steny Hoyer on Monday guaranteed victory in his race for House majority leader — one day after presumptive House speaker Nancy Pelosi backed Hoyer’s rival.
“I’m going to win,” the Maryland Democrat said in an e-mailto The Examiner. “I have the votes of the majority of the existing members and I think I’ll have the majority of the votes of the new members.”
During the weekend, Pelosi endorsed Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., for House majority leader. It made formal what had been informal: Pelosi and Murtha are longtime allies and Hoyer has been critical of Pelosi’s leadership. In 2001, Hoyer and Pelosi ran against one another for minority whip. Murtha managed Pelosi’s successful campaign.
Some Democratic loyalists were encouraged by Pelosi’s endorsement of Murtha. “Look, Hoyer is a good guy and would be a good leader,” said Democratic consultant Andy Fois. “But Murtha is hot and has led the way on Iraq and can continue to do so.”
Pelosi has made clear that the Democratic Congress will challenge the Bush administration. Murtha is a former Marine whose call for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq energized anti-war Democrats.
“If it weren’t for his vision and leadership, we wouldn’t be back in the majority,” said Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who has backed Murtha’s candidacy. “Jack stood up against Iraq, laying out a bold plan to bring our troops home when the polls and conventional wisdom said it was politically unwise.”
Supporters of Hoyer say that Iraq isn’t the only question facing Congress and that Hoyer’s parliamentary skills will help keep all the Democrats in line.
“I think he’s the better person for the job because he’s proven to be able to bring all kinds of Democrats together,” said Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We need that going forward.”
