Politics

Will Any Democrats Support Pelosi For Speaker After 2018?

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Joe Simonson Media Reporter
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Few people seem particularly enthused with the prospect of Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi serving as speaker of the House again — even Democrats running for Congress.

A The Washington Post March 17 post mortem on the Pennsylvania 18th congressional election revealed immensely weak support among Democrats for Pelosi, who many believe would presumably take Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan if the GOP loses control of the House.

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Conor Lamb, the Democrat who won the election, ran on a platform that opposed putting Pelosi back in the Speaker’s chair.

It doesn’t appear he’s an outlier.

“In interviews over the past month with 16 Democrats running for Congress, none said affirmatively that they would support Pelosi for speaker,” WaPo’s Dave Weigel wrote.

Pelosi has long suffered from low approval ratings. Only 29 percent of respondents held a favorable opinion of Pelosi, according to a September 2017 CNN poll. Ryan didn’t fare much better but was still higher at 32 percent.

Openly opposing Pelosi might actually prove helpful to Democrats. The GOP is hoping to capitalize on Pelosi’s low approval as a way to deflect from President Donald Trump’s unpopularity.

The New York Times reported Monday some Democrats suggested candidates don’t mention Pelosi’s name at all on the campaign trail.

“I was just in D.C., and that’s the advice everybody gives: Don’t say you’re for Pelosi,” former Democratic Nebraska congressman Brad Ashford said as he’s running to win his seat back in 2018.

“I have liberals back home; the one thing they really like about me is the fact that I voted against Nancy,” Democratic Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader said. “No matter what candidate you are, it’s not necessarily a bad message.”

Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan challenged Pelosi in 2016 for this position but ultimately got blown out, losing 63 votes to 134.

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