On the heels of dual special election defeats, Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) is being blamed and called out as "toxic" to the Democratic Party by Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. After spending a total of about $50 million on John Ossoff’s failed bid to capture George’s 6th District special election, more democrats are calling for Pelosi’s head.
Democrats call for Pelosi's resignation
Ryan told MSNBC’s Morning Joe,” …you’ve got to beat the Republican and you’ve got to carry this very toxic Democratic brand on your back, too. That’s a tough thing to ask of a candidate running for Congress.” Ryan tried unsuccessfully to unseat Pelosi last fall before Democrats suffered huge losses in state and federal races, including the presidency to Donald Trump.
Since that time, Trump’s former opponent, Hillary Clinton, has been reduced to receiving polite applause at New York City plays that she attends and the Democratic Party is scrambling for a message that would unite the party despite polarizing figures like Tom Perez and Keith Ellison who now run the DNC - and Pelosi, who is safely nestled in California's 12th congressional district that includes four-fifths of the city and county of San Francisco.
Democrat: Pelosi brand worse than Trump
Ryan told the MSNBC host that it would be very difficult to win the house back as long as Pelosi is the speaker. Earlier, Ryan was quoted by the New York Times as saying, “Our brand is worse than Trump”. Republicans repeatedly tied Ossoff to Pelosi during the Georgia campaign which Ryan argues helped to defeat him in the 6th District race.
Other Democrats, including Sean Maloney and Kathleen Rice, both from New York, agree that Pelosi has to go, however, the Democratic Party has made no official announcement about an impending vote.
Pelosi says she's 'worth the trouble'
For her part, Pelosi promised in a letter to the minority party after Tuesday’s losses that she would soon reveal an economic message “we can all embrace.” Nevertheless, many Democrats are wondering why Pelosi waited until after the Democratic Party lost the White House and a slew of state legislative seats to start talking about a message other than Russia collusion and anti-Trump rhetoric.
Nevertheless, the speaker claims to have the support of House Democrats and says that she will continue on as their leader.
Democrats defending most seats in 2018
Democrats have good reason to be concerned. In 2018, 33 Senate seats are up for election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 36 governorships. In the Senate, Democrats are defending 25 of the 34 seats up for election.
The odds are steep for Democrats since they would have to hold on to all 25 of the seats they are defending and take three Republican seats to win. One reason the Georgia District Six race has Democrats fretting is that in 2018 the party must win a net 24 House seats to take control. Most of those Republican seats are in reliable Republican districts.
