A majority of Democrats do not want Nancy Pelosi to lead the party as House speaker during the next Congress, a new poll showes.
More than half of the Democratic or Democratic-leaning likely voters surveyed by Gallup before the 2018 midterm elections said they would prefer to see Pelosi replaced as the party’s leader in the House, compared with about one-third who would like to see her stay at the helm of the caucus. That breakdown remained roughly the same when respondents along the political spectrum — from self-identified moderate Democrats to more progressive liberals — were asked for their opinions.
[Related: Trump suggests GOP might help Pelosi become speaker: ‘She has earned this great honor!’]
Despite craving change, most Democrats perceive Pelosi favorably, Gallup reported.
Pelosi, who on Wednesday officially mounted her campaign for speaker, is generally unpopular with the American electorate. Her use in a slew of Republican attack ads had resulted in a number of Democratic congressional candidates in tight races distancing themselves from her ahead of Election Day.
Gallup put its poll in the field from Oct. 15-Oct. 28. Researchers surveyed 496 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents via landlines and cellphones for the study. Their findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
