John Boehner a 'Frontrunner' for House Majority Leader

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has become one of two frontrunners to replace Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) as US House Majority Leader after DeLay contacted House Republicans on 01/07 to inform them that he would be stepping down as House Majority Leader amid charges back in his homestate of Texas of corruption and illegaly funneling campaign funds of more than $200,000 to Texas Republicans running for the state legislature.

Boehner's main Republican opponent for Majority Leader is Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), who also took over DeLay's duties as Majority Leader in the interim, when he was forced to step down temporarily a few months ago. Blunt leads Boehner in a tally of public endorsements from House GOP members by a count of 45-30. There continues to be a debate among Republican caucus members to decide when to hold the election for Majority Leader. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has moved to delay the final vote for Majority Leader until at least a retreat meeting that is scheduled for Jan. 30th-31st. But five GOP members of the House from Florida that includes US Senatorial candidate Katherine Harris and Rep. Clay Shaw, have asked the vote to occur before President Bush's State of the Union Address on Jan. 31st.

John Boehner represents the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio, which comprises Butler, Preble, and parts of Hamilton Counties. He was first elected in 1990 after a Republican primary against two former House members, Thomas Kindness and Don Lukens. Boehner served as the Republican Conference Chair from 1994 to 1998. Boehner currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and is credited with House passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Boehner was also a key part of a coup attempt against House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1998, by vocally supporting New York Congressman Bill Paxon for Speaker over Gingrich.

If Boehner were to be elected US House Majority Leader, he would be the first Majority Leader in Congress from Ohio since Sen. Robert Taft (R-OH) led the US Senate in 1953.