Is Nancy Pelosi on Her Way Out?
The high point for House Democrats came in 2009, when Nancy Pelosi, the first-ever woman Speaker of the House, won re-election by a 255-174 margin over then-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Just two years later, however, it was Boehner taking the Speaker’s Gavel with a 242-173 Republican majority, the result of an unprecedented 64-seat swing of power in the lower house of Congress. And, despite a conservative revolt within the Republican Party, they now hold their largest House majority since 1929.
The decline of Democrats in Congress has been in large part blamed on Pelosi’s leadership. The Republican National Committee has said it will soon begin running anti-Pelosi ads in hotly contested congressional districts where she is unpopular with voters.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the GOP strategy last week. In that story, it said:
A spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee suggested that anti-Pelosi ads could start popping up in competitive districts around the country, including in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where Pelosi is deeply unpopular and where GOP incumbents Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County) and David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County) are running for re-election in heavily Latino districts.
On the heels of that report, Washington Post political correspondent Dave Weigel, who is covering the 2016 campaign, published a tweet that raised a number of eyebrows. He wrote, “Striking finding from weekend of interviews with swing district Democratic House candidates: None would commit to back Pelosi for speaker.”
As Pelosi continues to promote a legislative agenda that is diametrically opposed to the values of most Americans, it seems unlikely she can survive, politically, another electoral setback. Potential replacements as House Minority Leader include:
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)—The current House Minority Whip is effectively the Democrats’ No. 2 in the House of Representatives, but his inability to help Pelosi build support could also be his downfall. His age—he’s 77 years old—is also not in his favor. It’s unlikely he would run against Pelosi in a leadership battle; she would have to resign first.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)—The current senior chief deputy whip would likely be a popular pick due to his leading the House sit-in over gun control and his opposition to Republican hearings over Hillary Clinton’s private email server. But he’s only a few months younger than Hoyer.
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.)—If Democrats have tired of California liberalism, they might be inclined to go a more traditional route with an East Coast liberal. He’s vice-chair of the Democratic Caucus and more than 20 years younger than Lewis and Hoyer.
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)—If representing California isn’t a detractor to fellow Democrats, he was reportedly being considered as a potential running mate to Hillary Clinton and would shore up Latino and Hispanic support. Like Crowley, he is a relative youngster in the Democratic ranks.
