Senators step into House Dem leadership race

[Rose Siding]

Prominent Democratic senators have stepped into a leadership race now raging among House Democrats.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been calling undecided House Democrats and urging them to support Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in the contest for vice chairman of the Democratic caucus, while New York Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) and Charles Schumer (D) have offered to help fellow New Yorker Rep. Joe Crowley (D), House aides said.

The help from the upper chamber comes during a pivotal week in the intense contest among Crowley, Schakowsky and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.).

Crowley and Schakowsky added new names to their rosters of supporters yesterday. Crowley named five new backers: Reps. Allen Boyd (Fla.), Rick Larsen (Wash.), Stephanie Herseth (S.D.), Ed Case (Hawaii) and James Langevin (R.I.), while Schakowsky released the names of Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (Mich.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) and Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The new supporters bring the number of members supporting Crowley to 58. Schakowsky allies now number 50. Larson, who has waged a low-key campaign out of the public eye, continues to count 18 public backers.

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/121505/vice.html