Rep.-elect Ben McAdams, D-Utah, kept a campaign promise on Wednesday by voting against Nancy Pelosi as the new House speaker. But she still won the vote in the House Democratic caucus by a 202-32 margin.
That came as Democrats, in secret balloting, choose Pelosi, 78, as their nominee for speaker. She ran opposed, and has led House Democrats for 15 years, but McAdams was among the members who still voted against her.
A roll call vote in the full House will occur on Jan. 3 to select the new speaker when the new Congress convenes. With the number of defections on Wednesday, Pelosi is still short of the 218 votes she needs then to win.