Complex sentence: Hoyer was elected by his colleagues to be House Majority Leader for the 110th Congress, defeating John Murtha of Pennsylvania by a vote of 149-86 within the caucus, despite Pelosi endorsing Murtha.
Split into simpler sentences: Hoyer was elected by his colleagues to be House Majority Leader for the 110th Congress. He defeated John Murtha of Pennsylvania by a vote of 149-86 within the caucus, despite Pelosi's endorsing Murtha.