WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — Representative John Boehner, an eight-term Congressman from far west Ohio, defeated Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri today in a stunning upset to succeed Tom DeLay as the House Republican majority leader.
Mr. Boehner received 122 votes to 109 for Mr. Blunt in a runoff made necessary by an inconclusive first ballot. The victory for Mr. Boehner signaled that many House Republicans are uneasy about the lobbying scandals that threaten to tar some of their party colleagues and wanted far more change than Mr. Blunt seemed to promise.
The first ballot ended inconclusively, with Mr. Blunt earning 110 votes, Mr. Boehner 79 and Representative John Shadegg of Arizona 40. Representative Jim Ryun of Kansas, the world-class miler of the 1960's, got two votes.
Mr. Shadegg and Mr. Ryun, who had not been an announced candidate for the post, then withdrew, leaving Mr. Boehner and Mr. Blunt to battle for a majority. There are 231 Republicans in the House, so 116 votes were needed for victory.
The rest of the NY Times story is here.
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