Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will conduct a “deep dive” into election losses that have so far cost the party 10 House seats.
“When we get more data, we’ll have a clearer picture,” Pelosi said.
The California Democrat made the first extensive comments on Friday about the losses that defied polls predicting a pickup of up to 15 seats.
Pelosi defended the performance of her party’s candidates, noting 31 of the 40 freshmen incumbents up for reelection were competing in districts won by President Trump in 2016.
Pelosi acknowledged Democrats who lost their races believe the party made mistakes.
Moderate Democrats are accusing the party’s left wing of promoting a socialist agenda that cost them support in swing districts.
“I spent most of the weekend listening to those who did not win the election,” Pelosi said. “I have pages, in fact, books, of notes, about how they saw what happened in their districts and how they see how we go forward. We have to have a deep dive. We have to really have the data.”
Pelosi’s majority will shrink by at least seven seats. Democrats have so far picked up two vacant seats in North Carolina that were part of a redrawn map, as well as an open seat in Georgia.
Pelosi will govern the slimmest majority since World War II, and several undecided races favor GOP candidates, which means the Democrats could end up with an even smaller advantage over the GOP.
She shrugged off the daunting numbers.
“It won’t have that much effect at all,” Pelosi said when asked about the narrowing advantage over the House GOP.
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders say their leverage will increase because of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“We have a president of the United States,” Pelosi told reporters, “That is so very important. And whether you’re in the minority or majority, if the president is of your party, you have more power.”
