Gephardt expresses Nov. doubt (Democrats winning control of House)

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During a private meeting in San Francisco last week, former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) expressed doubt that Democrats will win control of the House this fall, according to knowledgeable sources.

Gephardt’s remarks about the upcoming election, delivered to a group of investment analysts last Tuesday in the district of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), run counter to the predictions of some of his former colleagues who now occupy powerful positions in the Democratic leadership.

During a lunch sponsored by the Gerson Lehrman investment-consulting firm at the Omni Hotel, the 2004 presidential candidate and House minority leader from 1995 to 2003 said the lack of competitive races and gerrymandered districts could help House Republicans retain a narrower majority in the next Congress, the sources said.

But when asked about his comments, Gephardt suggested that people might have misconstrued what he said because they had expected him to predict a resounding victory this fall.

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