WASHINGTON -- A contentious leadership vote in the House of Representatives today divided House Democrats and Rhode Island's congressional delegation while dealing Nancy Pelosi a political defeat just hours after she was selected to be the first female Speaker of the House.

House Democrats soundly rejected Pelosi's candidate, Pennsylvania Rep. John P. Murtha, voting 149 to 86 for Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer as the House majority leader.

Rhode Island's two Democratic congressmen split on the vote. U.S. Rep. James Langevin voted with the majority for Hoyer, while U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy voted for Murtha.

Langevin said his party was united, despite the contentious vote.

"I think today was a minor challenge or a kind of a fight within the family," Langevin said this afternoon. "But at the end of the day, it’s a minor bump in the road and in the longterm we come out of this caucus united and stronger than ever."

Kennedy also largely dismissed news of today's rift as a "diversion" for "political junkies." He said that Rhode Island is better positioned politically because of his vote for Pelosi's candidate, despite the loss.

"This [vote] is also something that she appreciated," Kennedy said this afternoon.

Like other House Democrats, Langevin acknowledged behind-the-scenes political maneuvering before the vote and said he received repeated requests from Murtha and his supporters for his vote.

But Langevin was attracted by Hoyer's "overall record" and a personal connection that dates back to Langevin's first run for federal office.

Hoyer, who co-sponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, reached out to Langevin, a quadriplegic, during the 2000 Democratic primary, during which Hoyer donated to Langevin's campaign and invited him to Washington to meet "some key leaders."

"It's unusal for a sitting member of Congress, especially someone with his seniority, to get involved in a primary," Langevin said of Hoyer. "He was there early [for my campaign] and an eager supporter. I’ve had a personal loyalty and deep respect for him."

Kennedy said this afternoon that his vote for Pelosi's candidate positioned him well for the coming session in which Democrats will have the House majority for the first time in more than a decade.

"[Murtha] now goes back to being chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee...and Rhode Island gets over 900 million (dollars) in direct defense payroll every year," Kennedy said. "We have an enormous stake in having a good relationship with the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee."

And Kennedy's vote also puts him in the good grace of Pelosi, who may have lost a political battle today, but will be the most powerful member of the House of Representatives in the new Congress.

"She’s still the speaker. So essentially she’s still got her hands on all the levers of power in the Congress," Kennedy said. "It was a two-fer. I get a big bonus because Jack’s the chairman of defense appropriations subcommittee, which is vital to my district, and once again I’m voting in favor of Nancy Pelosi. I’m happy where I am and where I’ve positioned myself and Rhode Island’s First District."

But like Langevin, Kennedy dismissed the significance of today's rift among Democrats so soon after the historic election that gave them majorities in the House and the Senate.

"I think clearly what matters most to people is what we as a party produce when we get to work,” Kennedy said. "This is political junkies' excitement and diversion. But it really doesn’t constitute anything in the way of a meaningful difference in people's everyday lives."