WASHINGTON — Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, a likely presidential contender who has led his party in four fruitless tries to reclaim the House, intends to announce today that he will step down as minority leader, aides to the Missouri Democrat said.
The two leading candidates to succeed him are Reps. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Martin Frost of Texas.
The contest between the liberal Pelosi and the somewhat more centrist Frost could help chart a new ideological course for an opposition party that is struggling to determine whether it needs an overhaul or a mere makeover to retake power in the legislative and executive branches.
Setbacks in this week's midterm elections left Gephardt's rank and file dispirited -- and a few openly rebellious. Democratic lawmakers, dissecting the results, privately worried that the party needs to find a voice able to connect with the concerns of voters.
As the voice of the House Democrats for the last eight years, Gephardt inevitably drew fresh scrutiny. So too did his counterpart across the Capitol.
But Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) appeared set on running again for party leader despite the loss of the Democratic Senate majority. There were no immediate indications that Daschle would face a challenge from within his ranks.
That was not necessarily true, however, for Gephardt.
Hours before word of his decision spread late Wednesday, Reps. Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.) publicly suggested that Gephardt should not run.
"After four tries, you have to give somebody else a shot," Ford told CNN. "I'm not alone, I might add."
Gephardt's allies, angered at the breach of rank, dismissed such talk as sour grapes from lawmakers of modest stature who harbor other political motives.
But the clear implication was that Gephardt would have faced some degree of opposition -- although not necessarily defeat -- if he had sought to lead the party again.
Although aides insist that he has not made up his mind about a 2004 presidential run, Gephardt's decision to leave the House leadership has immediate repercussions for the Democratic field of presidential aspirants now taking shape. Freed from leadership duties on Capitol Hill, Gephardt would be able to throw himself full-tilt into preparations for a bid for the nomination to oppose President Bush.
It also would set the stage for a furious one-week race to succeed him as the leader of slightly more than 200 Democrats still smarting from this week's Republican wins.
