WASHINGTON _ California Rep. Barbara Lee on Wednesday lost her bid to become the first black woman elected to a House leadership position and the first woman to lead the House Democratic Caucus.
By a vote of 123 to 113, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York won the race to lead the caucus for the next two years. Both are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Several members cast Jeffries as a young new leader of the caucus who could one day become speaker. In his nominating speech, California Rep. Juan Vargas likened Jeffries to President Barack Obama.
Jeffries, 48, was just elected to a fourth term in Congress and is currently a co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, which helps Democrats develop their messaging. His entry into the race was seen by some as bypassing an unwritten rule that members rack up more experience before seeking a leadership post.
Others said he was part of a new generation of leaders stepping forward at a time when some are questioning how long the party's House leaders have been in power.
Jeffries will be the youngest member by far of the House Democratic leadership.
Lee, of Oakland, was first elected to Congress in 1998 after nearly a decade in the California Assembly and Senate. She is most widely known for casting the lone vote against the authorization for use of military force in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
