J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press
Some conservatives are skittish about having a new House majority leader from left-leaning California.
WASHINGTON - Some conservatives are skittish about having a new House majority leader from left-leaning California.
Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana says his constituents were 'probably scratching their head' when it came to Rep. Kevin McCarthy's election to the No. 2 job on Thursday.
Adding to the unease is that the House's top Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also is from California.
But McCarthy's Bakersfield-focused district is much more conservative than the rest of the state.
Among registered voters, Republicans outnumber Democrats there by a 16 percentage point margin. In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney took almost 57 percent of the vote.
Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana says the California connection played into his lobbying efforts to get colleagues to vote for Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., to succeed McCarthy as majority whip.
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