Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Stephen Lynch plans to meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Wednesday to discuss his current opposition to her speaker bid, signalling that his vote is up for grabs.
Lynch, who joined with a group of rebel Democrats vowing to buck Pelosi on the House floor, said Wednesday that he “could be persuaded” to back the longtime Democratic leader in her quest to reclaim the speaker’s gavel.
Lynch signed a letter last week pledging to vote against Pelosi on the House floor in January when the new Congress elects a speaker. But Lynch appeared more than willing on Wednesday to give his vote to Pelosi if he is able to get some concessions.
“I could be persuaded,” said Lynch, referring to how he’d vote in January — though not in Wednesday’s caucus vote that Pelosi is expected to easily win. “I’ve got a little leverage now, I’m not gonna throw that away,” Lynch said. “I’m persuadable and I told her that.”
[Read more: Easy victory expected for Nancy Pelosi in speaker nomination vote, despite defectors]
Lynch first indicated his willingness to talk with Pelosi in an interview with WCVB in Boston on Sunday, saying he would “obviously” support Pelosi if it came down to voting for a Republican or the Californian. But fellow detractors have long said they would never vote for a Republican speaker and that the question posed a false scenario.
Lynch went a step further on Wednesday, directly admitting that his vote is up for grabs. The eight-term congressman wants to talk to Pelosi about an infrastructure package, saying what she promised on infrastructure to fellow defector Rep. Brian Higgins of New York in exchange for support was not specific enough.
“I’d like to flesh out the details. I know we’re talking in general terms, but what are we actually going to do?” Lynch said.
Lynch also wants to discuss the Democratic Party’s leftward shift with Pelosi, referencing a growing frustration among Blue Dog Democrats who argue that the more progressive the party becomes the more they lose blue collar voters.
“Obviously I’m a moderate Democrat, I’d like to see us move to the middle a little bit,” Lynch said. “We had 27 new Democrats that won with 53 percent of the vote or less and they succeeded in really Republican districts so we have to maintain their seats.”
“We’ve allowed ourselves as a party to become a little bit elitist,” Lynch added. “We need to return to some of our blue collar, grassroots lunch bucket issues.”
