Vermont's congressman-elect, Peter Welch, cast his first ballots Thursday, helping elect Rep. Steny Hoyer as House majority leader and Nancy Pelosi as speaker.

Welch, speaking shortly after the vote while munching on lunch with his fellow Democrats, said the atmosphere was not divisive the way some are portraying the vote. Hoyer was chosen over Rep. John Murtha, who was Pelosi's choice.

"The reality is the caucus concluded there's room for both," Welch said.

Murtha, he said, will take the role of party spokesman on the war in Iraq, the issue that won him attention in the last year, while Hoyer is the party leader.

More from Welch in Friday's paper.

- Terri Hallenbeck