Competition is fiercer than ever.
This battle for the gavel is Washington's shadow election. No headlines, no tracking polls, no official slate of candidates. The players deal in the purest currency of power politics - persuasion, seniority, and cash. And this year, the campaign for chairs is being waged more openly and vigorously than anyone can remember. Gone are the days when all-powerful committee chairmen often hunkered down in their chairs for decades.