The Hill News

Blue Dog Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) became the latest lawmaker in his party to say he will not vote for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for minority leader later Wednesday. 

McIntyre, who survived a tough reelection fight to win a seventh term two weeks ago, said that Democrats need a new, unifying leader moving forward.

{mosads}"It’s time to turn the page and go into a different direction with fresh ideas, new leadership and one who unites," he told the Wilmington StarNews. We need a leader who is a uniter. Clearly, Ms. Pelosi is not that person." 

The North Ca! rolina congressman becomes the 19th Democrat to publicly oppose Pelosi, who is expected to win a term as minority leader when the House Democratic caucus votes for its leader in the next Congress.  

McIntyre, however, would not say if he is voting for his Tar Heel state colleague and fellow Blue Dog Rep. Heath Shuler (D) for minority leader. Shuler is the only candidate who has publicly announced he is running against Pelosi.

"With regard to who I’ll support ... there is still a series of meetings ongoing," McIntyre said. "I am still listening and still talking with numerous colleagues as to who might be the best person to be the minority leader ... The bottom line is there’s going to be some meetings over the next two to three days that will be determinative of that." 

Only two Democratic congressmen, Reps. Larry Kissell (N.C.) and Jason Altmire (Pa.), have said they will vote for Shuler.

A number of Democratic lawmakers, mainly centrists and conservatives, have balked at Pelosi's bid to continue as party leader, saying she shares blame for the historic 60-seat loss for House Democrats in the midterm elections. 

But Pelosi and her allies have insisted that the 70-year-old Speaker is not to blame for the party's defeat, instead crediting poor economic conditions and high unemployment.

McIntyre reiterated that Blue Dogs are looking to curtail the powers of the minority leader in the next Congress, a move that he said "may delay the election."

"We are very concerned that Ms. Pelosi is trying to position herself to be minority leader," he said. "So there’s an effort under way to look at the extent of the responsibilities of the minority leader and whether that should be revisited."

Top Democ! rats have already rejected a previous attempt to delay the vote.