Murtha vs. Hoyer for Majority Leader

The next election to watch isn't next year or 2008, but rather the race to become the Democratic Majority Leader in the House of Representatives.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is in line to become Majority Leader in January. However, this isn't a monarchy whereby the line of succession is written in stone. It wasn't until Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), previously a supporter of the Iraq conflict, spoke out about the lack of progress and called for a change in strategy including the redeployment of troops that many Democrats grew a spine on the issue. Hoyer has been more supportive of the war in the past contributing to his reputation as a Blue Dog Democrat. However, Hoyer is more liberal on social issues than Murtha who opposes abortion rights.

Something to consider is that Murtha's leadership on criticizing Iraq policy contributed to Democrats retaking the House in the election. Political Wire points to articles in Roll Call and the Hill reporting Rep. Nancy Pelosi, soon to become House Speaker, has thrown her support behind Murtha.