House Dems pick Pelosi as leader despite moderates' concerns

House Democrats re-elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi D-CA as their leader for the next Congress by a large margin on Wednesday as her challenger said the fragmented vote meant moderates should get a say in decision making.

Pelosi - who has strong support from liberals within her caucus - will transition in January at the start of the 112^th Congress from House Speaker to House Minority Leader. House Democrats voted secretly 150 to 43 to elect Pelosi against moderate Blue Dog Rep. Heath Schuler of North Carolina.

Meanwhile Republicans in the House unanimously nominated Rep. John Boehner as the GOP candidate for House Speaker and elected current minority whip Eric Cantor as majority leader.

Pelosi was asked by a reporter why she should remain as the Democratic leader following heavy election losses which cost Democrats the majority and low ratings among independent voters.

Because I'm an effective leader, because got the job done on health care and Wall Street reform and consumer protection. Because they know that I'm the person that can attract the resources both intellectual and otherwise to take us to victory - because I've done it before, she said.

She began her post-election speech by saying the message we received from the American people is that they want a job, noting the current unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.

Schuler said the vote wasn't about winning or losing the race, but to insure that the moderates are heard within the caucus and that we have a seat at the table.

She said she looked forward to hearing Republicans' ideas on job creation and deficit reduction.

Schuler said the vote wasn't about winning or losing the race, but to insure that the moderates are heard within the caucus and that we have a seat at the table.

To be able to get that many votes, that's a lot better than we expected. We probably never expected it. We only have 20-something Blue-Dogs and [to have] exceeded that with 43 is pretty good.

Pelosi has been the leader of her party in the House for the last eight years, with four as minority leader and four as Speaker.

In the Senate yesterday, leaders remained unchanged as Sen. Harry Reid D-NV held on to the majority leader spot in that chamber, while Sen. Mitch McConnell R-KS remained as minority leader.