House Democrats are admitting that they failed to connect with working-class voters in last week’s election, and say some changes may be needed if the party is going to have any chance of becoming the majority again in the next few cycles.
One way for Democrats to break out of the rut might be to find new leadership, and Rep. Tim Ryan has said he will challenge Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for her job. But even if he doesn’t succeed, several Democrats are already talking about other proposals to help the party focus more intently on Rust Belt voters, where Donald Trump succeeded and Hillary Clinton failed.
“I think in Michigan, clearly, one of the problems we had in this cycle is that people did not hear their main concern in any of the conversations,” the Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., told the Washington Examiner. “They didn’t really hear a focus on jobs … and I think that had a real impact.”
“I do think it would be better if we had more members from the Midwest actively involved in significant leadership roles,” Kildee said about the idea of the caucus expanding the leadership ranks in the way Senate Democrats just did.
House Democrats have added new leadership positions in the last few congresses, creating the position of “assistant Democratic leader” and rewarding certain members with special assignments. But some Democrats said more could be done.
“I think we have to just demonstrate to people, especially in the South, [that] the Democratic Party is a big tent party with people with divergent views,” said Louisiana’s Cedric Richmond. “We have to let people know there is room … you just have to welcome them into the party.”
Without speaking to the leadership race, most House Democrats say they need to take stock and consider how they operate.
“The question is, we’ve gotta do something different than what we’ve been doing,” New Jersey’s Bill Pascrell said.
“We just got a shellacking last Tuesday,” North Carolina’s G.K. Butterfield said. “We’ve got to recalibrate how we go forward. We have to figure out what we’ve done right, what we’ve done wrong.”
It very much remains to be seen, however, if all the handwringing translates into support for Ryan’s candidacy.
Pelosi claims to have the support of two-thirds of her caucus; almost every woman in the caucus signed a letter urging her to run for leader again; she has had 14 years in leadership to hone her operation; and her fundraising prowess — she raised $117.3 million for the DCCC in the 2016 cycle — has bought her many chits.
The last person to directly challenge her, former Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina in 2010, lost badly, 150-43.
“I don’t think it’s about leadership; I think it’s about the message,” said Richmond, who is seeking the chairmanship of the Congressional Black Caucus. “If there is a race, then we can talk about it,” he added.
Ryan didn’t formalize his candidacy before members left town Thursday for a week-long Thanksgiving recess. Kildee praised Ryan for stoking a much-needed debate, but didn’t endorse him.
Ryan “or anyone else will have to come up with a plan and a vision that is stronger than what leader Pelosi and [Whip Steny] Hoyer have been able to articulate; and that’s going to be difficult,” Kildee said. “If they do, then, you know, maybe they will succeed. But that outta be the measure, not how long anybody’s been around or how we did necessarily in the last cycle or how much money they raise for the party.”
“It needs to be, well what’s the plan? he continued. “And if somebody has a better plan, bring it on. So far I haven’t heard anyone articulate a better plan.”
In a “dear colleague” letter sent as most members were boarding planes home Thursday, Ryan pledged to do just that.
“In the days and weeks ahead, I will put forward policies and ideas to help us energize the diverse base of our party, and fight the intolerance and dangers that President-elect Trump represents,” Ryan wrote. “I expect the entire caucus to hold me accountable. That is why if I am successful, I will not serve again without the support of two-thirds of the caucus.”
So far, no one is publicly promising to vote for Ryan but numerous members are refusing to back anyone yet, a sign of how serious the crisis is for some Democrats.
“Timmy Ryan is a very close friend,” Pascrell said. “I have not endorsed anyone.”
New York’s Joe Crowley, who briefly considered seeking the minority leader position, told colleagues that he is committed to expanding the circle of influential voices if they elevate him to caucus chairman. He’s currently the vice chairman.
“What’s clear is that no single individual will be able to lead us back into the majority,” Crowley wrote in a letter to House Democrats. “What we need is a truly collaborative effort. I am committed to creating an inclusive environment within our caucus, which means broadening beyond the usual messengers and building our strategies and our goals from the ground up.”
Many members are happy to do some soul searching but refuse to blame the current caucus leaders for Democrats not flipping as many House seats on Election Day as was anticipated.
“It’s a much bigger issue than who the certain leaders may be at a certain period of time,” Pennsylvania’s Brendan Boyle said. “It would be more than a little unfair to somehow blame the current leadership team for some of the issues that we are talking about.”
“I fully intend to support Nancy Pelosi as leader,” he added. “I think she’s done a damn good job.”
Pelosi was confident about her re-election prospects during a news conference held before Ryan announced. But she also set the table to divert blame for losses—House Democrats have suffered a net loss of 68 seats since 2010.
“[W]e cannot be taking the full responsibility for what happened in the election,” she said. “You know, we have to do our after-action review thoroughly and see what we could have done differently, but a lot of it was beyond our control.”
Al Weaver contributed
