HE NATION
Two Emerge as House Leadership Contenders
# Senior Republicans from Missouri and Ohio campaign to succeed DeLay, but some are calling for candidates who represent change.
By Janet Hook, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The contest to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as House majority leader appeared to shape up as a two-man race Monday, as Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) and another possible contender announced they would not run for the powerful No. 2 position.
That apparently leaves the field to two senior Republicans — Roy Blunt of Missouri and John A. Boehner of Ohio — to compete for support from fellow House Republicans, who will choose DeLay's successor in a secret ballot election the week of Jan. 30.
There is a chance that another candidate may yet enter the race because there are a large number of undecided lawmakers, including some who think neither Blunt nor Boehner offers the fresh face they believe the party needs to distance itself from a recent spate of scandals.
Indeed, two lawmakers who had called for DeLay's departure urged their colleagues Monday to refrain from public commitments in the contest, saying no candidates had yet fully addressed their demand for broader institutional reforms, such as elimination of pork-barrel projects.
snip>
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-congress10jan10,1,695804.story?coll=la-headlines-politics&ctrack=1&cset=true