House Dems reach out to the South, West

Roll Call's Erin P. Billings reports [paid subscription required]:

In a decision designed to reap political reward for House Democrats, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has promoted a moderate Southerner and a Western woman to be two of his senior party vote-counters.

Hoyer tapped Reps. John Tanner (Tenn.) and Diana DeGette (Colo.) for the post of Chief Deputy Minority Whips. They succeed outgoing deputies Baron Hill (Ind.) and Max Sandlin (Texas) - two moderate Blue Dog Democrats who lost difficult re-election bids this cycle.

Hoyer said he chose Tanner and DeGette because of their ties to and credibility with key segments of the Caucus, as well as their overall work ethic, commitment to the party and ability to balance the Caucus' legislative and political priorities.

He added that the new Chief Deputy Whips add geographic, gender and ideological diversity to the whip organization and ensure that it maintains strong ties to outside constituency groups, including K Street.

I think it is extremely smart for the Democrats to reach out both to the South and to the West as America is growing in that direction and most likely will continue doing so.