For the second time in as many days, a House Democrat announced support for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s challenger, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) told The Denver Post on Monday that he thinks it’s time for a change after Democrats’ disappointing showing in this month’s elections.
“Let’s not go back to the status quo here,” Perlmutter said. “That’s not taking anything away from Nancy Pelosi [Calif.] or Steny Hoyer [Md.] or Jim Clyburn [S.C.]. They’re my friends, they’ve assisted me. They’ve been supportive of me. But as a general proposition, we need a change.”
{mosads}Ryan announced his candidacy for minority leader last week after Democrats agreed to delay their leadership elections. The Ohio Democrat has never run for a leadership post before over his 13-year tenure in the House but is casting himself as someone who can help the party appeal to white working-class voters behind President-elect Donald Trump’s success in Midwestern states.
Perlmutter said Ryan’s relative youth at 43, compared with Pelosi at 76, would offer a fresh start. Pelosi has been leading House Democrats for 13 years, longer than any other party leader in the past half-century.
“Where he lives is key. And his youth is key. It’s geographic. It’s demographic and I think you’re going to see a more populist expression from him,” Perlmutter said. “He would be good in terms of talking to some people who feel the Democratic party hasn’t listened to them enough.”
On Sunday, Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) became the first lawmaker to publicly back Ryan.
Pelosi has not faced a challenge since after the 2010 midterm elections, when Democrats lost 63 seats and their House majority.
Then-Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.) ran against her but won only 43 votes to Pelosi’s 150.
Democrats will hold at least 194 seats in the next Congress, and four nonvoting delegates who caucus with the party will also cast votes in the leadership elections on Nov. 30. That means Pelosi will need a minimum of 100 votes to be reelected minority leader.
Pelosi announced last week before Ryan launched his bid that she had support from more than two-thirds of the Democratic caucus.
Several Democrats have declared support for her on Twitter using the hashtag #StandWithNancy, including Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Anna Eshoo (Calif.), Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Joaquin Castro (Texas) and Mike Thompson (Calif.).