Democrats meet to elect a leader; is Murtha down for the count?

Sources tell the Hotline that Pelosi's candidate doesn't have the votes to beat Steny Hoyer.

Published November 16, 2006 3:22PM (EST)

Appearing on "Hardball" last night, Rep. Jack Murtha sounded awfully confident that he had all the votes he needed to become the Democrats' new House majority leader. Maybe not. House Democrats are still meeting, but the Hotline says it has heard from two "independent sources" that Murtha's people are conceding that he won't beat Steny Hoyer.

Update: The Hotline seems to be backing away a bit from its earlier report, stressing that Murtha hasn't conceded and that the race hasn't yet been decided.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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2006 Elections Nancy Pelosi D-calif. Steny Hoyer