Democrat Pelosi lacks votes to become Speaker

WASHINGTON— Rep. Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday handily won the Democratic nomination to be Speaker when her party claims the House majority in the new Congress, but with 32 Democrats voting no, she was well short of the number she will need to reclaim the gavel in January.

In a secret-ballot vote that dramatized rifts among Democrats only weeks after midterm election victories handed them House control, Pelosi, who is the first woman to be speaker, won support from 203 Democrats.

Beyond the 32 no votes, three ballots were blank. To become Speaker, she must win 218 votes in a House floor vote Jan. 3, so the tally will touch off what promises to be an intensive period of arm-twisting and cajoling to reach her goal. It also gives some time for a serious challenger to emerge. But it also demonstrated the limits of a group of dissidents that has said it wants new leadership at the top of the party as Democrats take power, not Pelosi, 78, who has led House Democrats for more than 15 years. Those dissidents include a crop of newcomers who campaigned promising to change Congress. Speaking with reporters as the votes were tallied, Pelosi brushed aside the concerns of her foes and hinted that she expected her opposition to erode.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” she said.

Just before the balloting began, Pelosi dispensed with one major obstacle that had threatened to strengthen her foes, securing the support of a small but critical bloc of Democrats after she agreed to change House rules to give rank-andfile members more influence in Congress.