Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had promised her an opportunity to work to protect voting rights. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Congress Fudge endorses Pelosi for speaker, dropping potential challenge The Ohio Democrat is the only lawmaker who has publicly considered taking on Pelosi.

Rep. Marcia Fudge endorsed Nancy Pelosi for House speaker on Tuesday, just days after openly mulling a challenge to the California Democrat, providing a significant boost to Pelosi’s quest to regain the gavel.

Fudge’s endorsement is a significant blow to efforts by more than a dozen current and incoming Democrats to oust Pelosi, who has ruled over the caucus for the past 16 years. Fudge’s backing leaves the anti-Pelosi faction without a potential challenger against the longtime Democratic leader.


At the same time Fudge announced her support, Pelosi’s office released a statement naming the Ohio Democrat chairwoman of a House subcommittee overseeing elections in the next Congress. That appointment would rely on Pelosi’s becoming speaker.

Fudge said Pelosi had promised her an opportunity to work to protect voting rights and assured her that “the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic Party, black women, will have a seat at the decision-making table.”

The timing of Fudge’s endorsement is also critical. The House Democratic Caucus gathers next week to vote on speaker and several other leadership positions behind closed doors. The caucus “revolutionaries,” as they sometimes call themselves, will now have to scramble to find another challenger if they want to take on Pelosi during the caucus vote.

If Pelosi wins the caucus vote — as she is overwhelmingly favored to do — she will still need to win a floor vote to become speaker again. Pelosi was forced to give up the speaker's gavel following the tea party-inspired wipeout of House Democrats in 2010.

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Pelosi praised Fudge in a statement, calling the Ohio Democrat a “relentless advocate” for voting rights and “a driving force in our voter protection efforts.”

Fudge’s announcement is a huge setback for the anti-Pelosi forces who have been working hard to deny her the 218 votes to become speaker. The group released a letter on Monday in which 16 current and incoming freshman Democrats vowed to oppose Pelosi both in the caucus vote and on the House floor in January.

Fudge had initially been on a draft of the opposition letter but took her name off before the final version was released Monday afternoon. Fudge is the only Democrat who has publicly considered challenging Pelosi.

Pelosi needs 218 votes to win the speakership if all members are present and voting in January. In addition to the 16 Democrats promising to vote against Pelosi, at least three other incoming House freshmen have said they will oppose her. If all of those Democrats stand firm, it would likely be enough to deny Pelosi the speakership.

But Pelosi has more than a month to work to persuade members to support her once she wins the caucus vote next week. And the latest move — offering Fudge a plum subcommittee chairmanship overseeing an issue important to her — is evidence of the persuasive tools Pelosi has at her disposal to offer to lawmakers.

The House Administration subcommittee Fudge will lead was eliminated by Republicans in 2013.

Earlier Tuesday, Fudge apologized for sending a letter several years ago supporting a former Ohio judge who is now accused of killing his ex-wife.

In the 2015 letter, Fudge asked for leniency in sentencing for Lance Mason after Mason admitted to brutally beating his then-wife, Aisha Fraser. Mason was arrested Saturday in connection with his ex-wife’s murder.

“My support of Lance in 2015 was based on the person I knew for almost 30 years — an accomplished lawyer, prosecutor, state legislator and judge. That’s the Lance Mason I supported,” Fudge said in a statement. “The person who committed these crimes is not the Lance Mason familiar to me. They were horrific crimes, and I condemn them.”

The case would’ve likely posed problems for Fudge within the caucus had she moved forward with her speakership bid.

Fudge also endorsed Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) in her statement. Hoyer is running for House majority leader, while Clyburn is seeking the majority whip post, positions they held the last time Democrats were in the majority. Both men are running unopposed and are expected to win easily.

“I am now confident that we will move forward together and that the 117th Congress will be a Congress of which we can all be proud,” Fudge said in her statement. “I now join my colleagues in support of the leadership team of Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn."

In addition to Fudge, Pelosi picked up another critical endorsement Tuesday — that of former President Barack Obama.

Obama heaped effusive praise on Pelosi during an interview with his former aide David Axelrod for “The Axe Files” podcast.

“I think Nancy Pelosi, when the history is written, will go down as one of the most effective legislative leaders that this country’s ever seen,” Obama said.

“Her stamina, her ability to see around corners, her ability to stand her ground and do hard things and to suffer unpopularity to get the right thing done, I think, stands up against any person that I’ve observed or worked directly with in Washington during my lifetime,” he added.