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Nancy Pelosi re-elected as House minority leader Nancy Pelosi re-elected as House minority leader
(35 minutes later)
Nancy Pelosi has been re-elected as House minority leader on Wednesday, despite an unexpected challenge from Ohio congressman Tim Ryan. Nancy Pelosi has been re-elected as House minority leader on Wednesday, fending off an unexpected challenge from Ohio congressman Tim Ryan despite calls for new leadership following the Democrats’ crushing electoral defeat.
Democrats elected Pelosi, a progressive from San Francisco who has led the party in the House since 2002, to another term in a closed-door vote on Wednesday. The party elected Pelosi, a progressive from San Francisco who has led her colleagues in the House since 2002, to another term in a closed-door vote on Wednesday. She earned 134 votes to Ryan’s 63.
She earned 134 votes to Ryan’s 63, according to a Democratic aide in the room. In a tweet, Pelosi said she was “honored” to be re-elected and urged the party to get to work.
Pelosi had confidently predicted that she had support from two-thirds of the caucus. Honored to be elected by my colleagues to serve as Democratic Leader. Let's get to work. pic.twitter.com/knAEqL8azt
Her win came despite widespread calls for change after the party’s demoralizing losses on 8 November, when Republicans won the White House and retained control of both chambers of Congress. Democrats only picked up six seats in the House after Pelosi had predicted gains of more than 20. Pelosi’s win came despite widespread calls for change after the party’s demoralizing losses on 8 November, when Republicans won the White House and retained control of both chambers of Congress. Democrats only picked up six seats in the House after Pelosi had predicted gains of more than 20.
In a statement, Ryan congratulated Pelosi on her victory, adding that he was happy his leadership bid prompted “tough family discussions” about how to move forward. Ryan, who was elected to the House in 2002 and has only known Pelosi’s leadership, argued that the party needed fresh leaders at the top.
“I ran for leader because I believe strongly in the promise of the Democratic Party, but November taught us that changes were necessary,” Ryan said in a statement. “Our party’s losses showed our Caucus that we needed to have a serious conversation about our path forward and open the door for new reforms and voices in Democratic Leadership.” After the vote, the Ohio Democrat congratulated Pelosi in a statement, praising her for adopting minor reforms that would give newer members of Congress more leadership opportunities. He added that he was happy his leadership bid prompted “tough family discussions”.
“I ran for leader because I believe strongly in the promise of the Democratic party, but November taught us that changes were necessary,” Ryan said in a statement. “Our party’s losses showed our caucus that we needed to have a serious conversation about our path forward and open the door for new reforms and voices in Democratic leadership.”
Ryan’s challenge illustrated the growing discontent among Democrats, especially young ones who believe the party needs new leadership at the top after failing to reclaim the majority since 2010.
Ryan, whose district spans Youngstown, an old manufacturing town, urged Democrats to hone an economic message that would resonate with working class families in the Midwest and the South who broadly rejected Hillary Clinton in November.
“It is clear as we learn more about the outcome of our elections that we’re ignoring crucial voices that deserve to be heard,” Ryan said.
The 2016 election also opened a wide debate over who the Democratic party represents. The election results showed a party that is buoyed by support from coastal states and failed to appeal to the working class voters who were once central to its winning coalition.
Wednesday’s election ensures that the party will be lead by coastal Democrats, with Pelosi serving alongside Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
Kyrsten Sinema, a congresswoman from Arizona who supported Ryan, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the result, accusing her fellow Democrats of doubling down on a “failed strategy”.
“It is obvious that the current strategy doesn’t work; millions of Americans don’t feel that our party represent them anymore and they’ve said so, loudly in multiple elections,” Sinema said in a statement. “This should be a time of reflection and clear-eyed change, not a time to rubber stamp the failed strategy of the past.”
Pelosi had publicly predicted that she had support from two-thirds of the caucus. She just surpassed that threshold in Wednesday’s vote, though the 63-vote defection is the widest margin she has faced in her 14-year reign.
Pelosi is expected to address reporters on Wednesday.