On Wednesday, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi managed to secure another term as head of the House Democratic Caucus, despite an underdog challenge by Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan. Pelosi prevailed through a 134-63 vote; a loss of 60 members clearly reflects growing dissent in the Democratic party, especially after the surprising win of Donald Trump during the presidential election.
After the GOP won the presidency and Congress in November, many feel the Democratic party needs to go back to the drawing board. The party has already made some changes by promoting Bernie Sanders to outreach chair and electing New York Senator Chuck Schumer as minority leader, but bringing Pelosi back may be a sign that the party doesn’t want to stray too far from a comfort zone.
To put Pelosi’s win into perspective, only 43 lawmakers voted against her when she ran for the position six years ago. The Hill report that Ryan’s platform was a sign Pelosi’s strategies were not working. His overarching message — that the party doesn’t address concerns of blue-collar voters — is a common sentiment these days. Sanders had been lambasting this point for some time, stressing how Democrats need to tweak their strategies. However, the former Speaker of the House said she came out of this victory with “special spring in her step.”