On the day before Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives were set to vote for a minority leader, Rep. Mike Michaud indicated Tuesday that he wasn’t likely to support the party favorite, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California.

Michaud, a Millinocket Democrat, said Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans were putting forward “more of the same,” despite a mandate for change from voters on Election Day.

“The American people sent a clear message that they want Congress to work together to improve our economy,” Michaud said in a written statement. “I think it’s time for a fresh approach on both sides of the aisle.”

Although Michaud didn’t say specifically that he wouldn’t vote for Pelosi, his comments suggest he’ll likely support U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. Shuler announced Monday that he would challenge Pelosi for minority leader when House Democrats caucus Wednesday.

Shuler is a leader of the congressional Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of conservative Democrats that includes Michaud and 22 others, mostly from swing states.

Although Shuler appears to have little chance of defeating Pelosi, his candidacy is considered a protest against a liberal agenda that Blue Dog Democrats blame for massive mid-term election losses.

The election was particularly painful for Blue Dog Democrats. Thirty-one congressmen in the once-54-member-strong coalition were defeated Nov. 2, including two caucus leaders.

In 2008, Blue Dog victories in swing states were viewed as instrumental in giving Democrats strong majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

But this year, many Blue Dogs fell as Republican challengers successfully linked them with Pelosi, the outgoing House majority leader who became symbolic of unpopular initiatives such as the stimulus bill, health care reform and the automotive industry bailout.

Michaud’s Republican challenger, Jason Levesque, deployed the Republican strategy while attempting to prevent the congressman from winning a fifth term. Michaud defeated Levesque by a 10-point margin.

On Tuesday, Michaud said he’d been “increasingly critical of the leadership of both political parties.”

“It’s disappointing to me that it looks like the Republicans and Democrats are putting forward more of the same,” he said.

Last week, Michaud and 15 other Democrats signed a letter urging current Democratic leaders to delay selecting minority leadership until December. The letter pointed to Democrats’ “historic” loss of 60 seats to Republicans and exit polling that showed the party lost male and female voters, as well as independents — stark reversals from 2008. 

“Considering these disturbing exit polls, we believe we should not rush to elect a leadership slate next week, but rather spend more time understanding these historic losses,” the letter said. “Before we chart a new path forward, we need to understand where we erred to avoid repeating past mistakes.”

The letter, signed by Blue Dogs and several other Democrats, said it was not opposing or endorsing specific leadership candidates.

However, when asked to expound on his thoughts Tuesday, Michaud said both parties needed a “fresh approach.”

Ed Gilman, Michaud’s communications director, said the Blue Dog Coalition was scheduled to meet Tuesday night.

[email protected]