Two more Democrats running for Congress said on Tuesday that they would not vote for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to be the Speaker if Democrats take back the House.
Ohio Democrat Danny O’Connor, who is running in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that he would not support Pelosi if elected and Democrats take back the House.
“We need change,” he said. “We need to have new leadership on both sides.”
Matthews asked, “You’re not voting for Pelosi?”
O’Connor, who is running in a District Trump won by double digits in 2016, answered, “No.”
Max Rose, the Democrat running in New York’s 11th Congressional District, told CBSN on Tuesday that he would also not vote for Pelosi. Rose, who CBSN noted is running in the only New York Congressional District Trump carried in 2016, said Democrats are “in urgent need of new leadership.”
“The party has lost the trust of voters, not only in my district, but throughout the country, and believe me, if you separate the parties and you just look at our policies — infrastructure, equitable growth, lowering per capita health care costs — those policies have massive support,” Rose reportedly said. “But we’ve got to move towards being also a party that can garner people’s trust and keep it, and we’re not going to accomplish that without new leadership,”
When asked if he would support Pelosi, he also said, “No.”
Democrat Conor Lamb (D-PA) won his special election in Pennsylvania earlier this year while running ads telling voters he would not back Pelosi, and many younger Democrats saw Lamb’s victory as a sign that the party may be better off without having Pelosi as one of its most prominent faces.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) said on Sunday that Democrats need a “new generation of leadership” and must be “honest about the problems that we face,” making it clear that he believes Democrats need a leader not named Pelosi.
Pelosi, though, has been adamant that she will run for Speaker if Democrats take back the House.
“We will win. I will run for Speaker. I feel confident about it. And my members do, too,” Pelosi told the Boston Globe this year.
If Democrats take back the House, Pelosi will have significant advantages. Not only is she the party’s best fundraiser in Congress and known for her vote-counting abilities, but Democrats do not have a consensus alternative to Pelosi. The House Minority Leader may also want to become Speaker again to make it easier for her to choose her potential successor.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.