House GOP Leader to Face Challenge for Post

Rep. Dan Lungren of California announced yesterday that he will challenge House Minority Leader John A. Boehner's bid to lead the Republican caucus in the next Congress.

Boehner (Ohio) has led his party in the House since 2006, and he is in a strong position to keep that job even though the GOP has lost more than 50 seats in the past two elections. It had appeared as though Boehner would be unopposed next week when the party meets to elect its leaders, and that appears to be what motivated Lungren's run.

The Californian suggested in a statement released by his office that it would be better for Republicans if Boehner did not go unchallenged. "It is my belief that it is neither in the interest of our party or the advancement of our conservative principles to simply affirm the status quo by acclamation in light of what happened on November 4th," he said.

In response to Lungren's announcement, Boehner said: "Dan Lungren is a respected member of our conference and a man deeply committed to the principles that have defined our party since the beginning."

Lungren served in the House representing a Southern California district from 1978 to 1988, then left Congress and was elected state attorney general in 1990, holding that position for eight years. He was elected again to the House in 2004 from a Sacramento area district, and has worked mostly on homeland security and judiciary issues since then.