WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- An exuberant Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to lead a political party caucus in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, when she was overwhelmingly elected by her Democratic colleagues to be the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.
Pelosi, 62, will take over from Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who has been in the post since 1994 but failed to lead his party back into the House majority. He is also eyeing a 2004 presidential run.
She easily beat her only challenger, Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee by a vote of 177-29. A third candidate for the post, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, pulled out before the vote.
The California congresswoman said she would strive to lead her party back to the majority in the House and reinvigorate the party's message.
She also said she planned to work closely with Republicans on terrorism and on a "a message of economic growth" but that she would also encourage Democrats to fight for their differences.
"I'm not finished yet, I've been waiting over 200 years for this," Pelosi told a reporter who asked her a question during her victory announcement.
"I'm here because I'm a politician and an experienced legislator, but it just so happens that I am a woman, and we have been waiting a long time for this moment."
Pelosi, an 8th term Congresswoman representing San Francisco, is moving up from her current position as Minority Whip -- the number two Democratic slot. She has been a strong fundraiser for many House Democrats, winning their personal allegiance.
Her politics are solidly liberal, making her a popular target of Republican conservatives.
She voted against the recent resolution to use force in Iraq and has voted against welfare reform. She supports needle exchanges and is against banning partial birth abortion.
She named John Spratt of South Carolina, a more moderate Democrat, as assistant majority leader, apparently to show that she wants a balance of political views in the leadership.
The party, which lost additional seats to Republicans in the recent election, has been soul-searching as it struggles to develop a clearer message to attract popular support.
Defeated challenger Ford Jr., a 32-year-old, third-term lawmaker representing Memphis, had presented himself as one such new direction for the party. His brief campaign for minority leader stressed a message of fiscal discipline and conservative to center Democratic values.
At least one Pelosi faithful warned Thursday that his challenge to Pelosi had not been a wise political move.
"What Harold did strikes me as pretty unproductive," said James Moran, D-Va.
"Sometimes you have to show a little personal discipline rather than do things that will haunt you in the future, and say things that will fuel the Republicans for years to come."
