By Adam Pincus
U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) defeated Crowley 116 to 87 in the second round of balloting to become vice chairman of the 205-member Democratic Caucus in a stunning vote that may have been influenced by internal rivalries at the top of the House Democratic leadership.Chris McCannell, Crowley's chief of staff, said that despite the disappointing vote the congressman remained in a strong position.”He is still the highest ranking New York Democrat in the House,” McCannell said. “And he is grateful that 87 of his colleagues gave him their support. There is a lot of good will toward Crowley.”Crowley will maintain his position as chief deputy whip, which he has held for two years, McCannell said. A former Hill staffer said the vote caught members of the caucus off guard: “I have not spoken to one staffer who was not totally shocked by the vote.”Crowley lobbied for months for the position, and by mid-December he led the field of three candidates with 63 committed supporters, followed by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) with 52 votes. At the time, Larson was far behind with 18. Crowley and Schakowsky had publicly touted their vote counts, but Larson had been more discreet.”We did know that Larson had a strong group. But he waged a private campaign and did not release names,” McCannell said.The vice chairman position opened up after U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who had been chairman of the Democratic Caucus, was tapped to fill the Senate seat vacated by U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), who won the race for governor of New Jersey in November. Menendez's vice chairman, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) became chairman of the caucus in January.Crowley led the first ballot with 79 votes, ahead of Larson with 66 and Schakowsky with 56, but fell short of the 103 votes needed to win. On the second ballot Crowley gained a handful of votes, but the majority of Schakowsky's supporters broke for Larson. McCannell said the Illinois representative told her supporters to back Larson if she did not make it to a second ballot, which gave him the decisive victory.U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) said there was speculation that because Crowley supported Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in his losing bid several years ago against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Schakowsky, who is allied with the more liberal Pelosi, told her supporters to back Larson in a second ballot.But he said Crowley was still a congressional leader.”Joe is a star who is respected by everybody in the delegation,” he said.Reach reporter Adam Pincus by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
