Of the 15 newly elected Democratic state representatives, a solid majority did not attend Robert DeLeo's dinner last Thursday in Worcester.

And not all of the newly elected lawmakers at the dinner have committed to supporting DeLeo to become the next Speaker of the House in the event that Salvatore DiMasi steps down.

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette reported last week that DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, held a dinner last week with about 70 lawmakers in Worcester that would support him to become speaker. The Telegram and Gazette noted that one of DeLeo's supporters was confident that DeLeo would become the next speaker because of his efforts to garner support from newly elected state representatives.

But a survey of 14 of the 15 newly elected state representatives (one was unreachable on deadline) revealed a limited amount of support for DeLeo. Four of the 14 said they attended the dinner, and only three of those said they would back DeLeo if DiMasi steps down.

"I will support Speaker DiMasi - he told me he is going to continue to seek the speaker position and my loyalty is to him," said Dennis Rosa, the newly elected Leominster Democrat. "However, Chairman DeLeo gave me a hand during the election, we kind of hit it off...If per chance, the speaker doesn't run, then I would support him."

Two other newly elected Democrats who asked for anonymity said that they were at the dinner and would support DeLeo. Another, Brockton Democrat Michael Brady, said he stopped in at the dinner but has not committed to DeLeo.

"I am just waiting to see," Brady said. "All I'm hearing is that the current speaker is running and he has the most support."

Nine of the fourteen state representatives-elect, some of whom also requested anonymity, did not attend the dinner and many of them said they weren't approached about it.

"I was not there and I had no idea about it," said Jen Benson, a Lunenburg Democrat. "I read about the dinner in the Telegram and Gazette the next day."

"I was not there - I was at my son's Boy Scout turkey dinner," added Jim Cantwell, the newly elected Marshfield Democrat. "I heard of it but I was not formally invited."

It remains possible, though, that those who did not attend the dinner may support DeLeo down the line.

Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown Democrat, said he didn't go to the dinner and hasn't been focusing on the speaker speculation.

"Obviously, the whole question of the speakership is something that is getting a lot of attention and it's a really important matter," Hecht said. "It's something that I'm sure everybody in the legislature is thinking about. At this point I am just trying to keep my focus on getting ready...That is going to play out in its own way. If there is a decision to be made, I'll make it then."

Jason Lewis, the newly elected Winchester Democrat, declined to comment for this story.