On Monday, 17 House Democrats pledged to vote against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for speaker of the House as Democrats retake the majority in January 2019.
Some notable members include Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, and Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. According to reports, two more members could be signing on to the anti-Pelosi letter.
More notable may be the Democrats who didn’t sign the letter, even though they promised on the campaign trail that they would oppose her for speaker.
Back in early August, however, NBC News compiled a list of Democratic candidates — both nominees and incumbents — who opposed Pelosi leading the party should the Democrats retake control of the House.
By my count, 12 Democrats who won their respective races were listed as opposing Pelosi during the campaign, but did not attach their name to the letter.
Current members:
1. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J.
2. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa.
Incoming members:
3. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.
4. Jared Golden, D-Maine
5. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif.
6. Andy Kim, D-N.J.
7. Jason Crow, D-Colo.
8. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va.
9. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
10. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.
11. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
12. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn.
UPDATE: Rep. Pascrell signed on to a letter of support for Pelosi for speaker this week after initially supporting outgoing Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., who was ousted in the Democratic primary by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Of course, not signing the anti-Pelosi letter does not mean that any of the 12 current and incoming members will vote for her in the caucus or on the floor, but it stands out nevertheless as puzzling. It tempts one to think that perhaps for some candidates, being anti-Pelosi was purely a political strategy, rather than an earnest stance.
