West Virginia Dem nominee says he might not Vote Pelosi

From Eric Dondero:

The magic number for Republicans to win the House, being bandied about by the media, is "218." That's a needed pick-up of 40 House seats by Republicans in November. But the actual number may be lower - a pick-up of 39.

Meet West Virginia State Senator Mike Oliverio. He recently won the Democrat primary for US Rep. WV District 1, beating longtime incumbent and scandle-plagued Rep. Alan Mollahan. Oliverio ran as a strong pro-life, social conservative Dem.

At a recent forum, ironically with Dick Morris as the guest speaker, Oliverio made the following remarks (via The Wheeling News-Register, April 29) :

"I will vote for the candidate in the best interest of West Virginia," Oliverio said following the event. "Hopefully, there will be a better candidate than Nancy Pelosi."

Other sources have cited that Oliverio actually "pledged" during the primary campaign not to vote for Pelosi. One progressive blog even describes Oliverio as a "Tea Bagger," backed by local WV Tea Party groups. Oliverio is strongly opposed to cap and trade legislation.

While a vote for John Boehner for Speaker of the House from Oliverio may not be in the cards, Oliverio's remarks could be interpreted as urging a compromise choice. If a House line-up is close, 216 to 215 for example, a Blue Dog Democrat, like Mississippi's Rep. Gene Taylor or Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick for Speaker could be a distinct possibility. (Minnick is a former Republican who has the most conservative voting record of any House Dem.)

Note - there are currently no Republican congressional nominees who have indicated that they would vote for anyone other than House minority leader Boehner for speaker.