A Michigan Democrat says she’s continuing to back House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi because she has the interests of the whole caucus at heart, not just the white working class.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said on CNN Wednesday that Pelosi keeps in mind the unification of the minority caucus when considering issues. While Dingell represents a district full of the white working class voters who swung the presidential election for President-elect Trump, she said the challenge from Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, focuses too much on those voters.
“Ours is not the only issue that matters in a very diverse caucus, and I think Nancy has been a good leader at pulling all the disparate issues together, which we have to be united on to take on some of the challenges we’ll face,” Dingell said.
Democrats are set to vote Wednesday on who will lead their conference. Pelosi is considered the favorite, but Ryan has been actively campaigning for himself on cable news networks and by calling members in recent weeks.
Dingell said Pelosi has been a strong leader for the Democrats, despite the collapse in Democratic numbers in the lower chamber since 2010. She’s a fighter for many different issues and isn’t only focused on an economic message, Dingell said.
She was alluding to Ryan hitting Pelosi on an economic message for the working class repeatedly, which has been one of his few talking points during the race.
“You can’t go into this and be a leader and only focus on one thing,” Dingell said.
