Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats would campaign on a “mainstream, nonmenacing agenda” and would not tout the socialist proposals put forward by Bernie Sanders if he is chosen as the party’s presidential nominee.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters Thursday the responsibility of House party lawmakers “is to win the House” and said her caucus won back the majority from Republicans in 2018 “by owning the ground with our mobilization, not yielding one grain of sand by messaging a bold, progressive agenda that was mainstream and nonmenacing and having the money to advance our cause with our message and our ground game.”
Pelosi said the party would unify behind whichever candidate wins the nomination, including Sanders, the socialist Vermont senator who has proposed free healthcare, free college, elimination of student loans, and free child care, among other programs that would be funded with higher taxes.
Sanders may not win the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the nomination through the caucus and primary contests.
Pelosi appeared to reject the idea that Sanders should be the winner if he arrives at the July Democratic National Convention with fewer than a majority but more pledged delegates than the remaining Democratic candidates.
[LIST: Democrats saying what a terrible nominee Bernie Sanders would be]
“The person who will be nominated will be the person who has the majority plus one,” Pelosi said. “That may happen before they even get to the convention, but we’ll see. The people will speak, and that’s what we’re listening to, and it’s a pretty exciting thing.”
Democratic National Committee officials will brief House Democrats Thursday on their role as superdelegates, who will have a vote on the nominee if nobody wins the 1,991 pledged delegates.
“It’s merely housekeeping,” Pelosi told reporters who asked if the meeting would focus on whether to endorse Sanders if he captures a plurality, but not a majority, of pledged delegates. “That’s not what this meeting is about.”
Sanders’s growing lead has provoked quiet concern among House Democrats, who won the majority in 2018 by seizing swing-state districts held by Republicans.
Some Democrats fear a Sanders-led ticket will hurt the freshmen Democrats seeking reelection in those seats.
Majority Whip James Clyburn, a prominent South Carolina House member, announced his support for moderate Joe Biden, telling reporters he’s backing the former vice president because he is “concerned about the House.”
Pelosi insisted Democrats support any of the candidates as the presidential nominee, although she did not mention Sanders by name. She said she was not “hearing from anybody” the concerns about Sanders’s impact on House races.
“We are all unified,” Pelosi said. “Whoever the nominee is of our party, we’ll wholeheartedly support. Our gospel is one of unity, unity, unity.”
