House

The 15 Democrats who voted against Pelosi

by Cristina Marcos - 01/03/19 2:13 PM ET

Fifteen Democrats voted against returning Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker’s chair on Thursday, short of the dozens who originally pledged to oppose her return to power.

The defectors, nearly all freshman lawmakers, didn’t all cast their votes for a single alternative candidate.

{mosads}Three Democrats, Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.) and freshman lawmakers Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), voted “present,” which allowed them to avoid casting a vote in favor of Pelosi without endorsing an actual alternative.

Indeed, Pelosi’s critics’ efforts were hampered last year in large part because they failed to present a candidate who could serve as Speaker instead.

But a handful of freshman Democrats in swing districts who promised to oppose Pelosi on the campaign trail followed through on Thursday.

Lawmakers can vote for anyone as Speaker, which left defectors room to cast their votes for people outside of Congress.

Incoming freshman Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.) cast a vote for former Vice President Joe Biden. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), a top Pelosi critic, cast a vote for Stacey Abrams, who lost her competitive race for Georgia governor in November.

Other defectors voted for current members of Congress.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq War veteran, drew two votes from freshman lawmakers Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Max Rose (D-N.Y.).

The incoming chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Cheri Bustos (Ill.), drew votes from freshman lawmakers Joe Cunningham (S.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) and Abigail Spanberger (Va.).

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) voted for Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a former Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman who contemplated challenging Pelosi for Speaker. But Fudge decided against a bid and ultimately voted for Pelosi on Thursday.

Pelosi won the support of many of her critics by agreeing last month to serve no more than four more years as the House Democratic leader. Under the terms of the agreement, Democratic leaders would be limited to three two-year terms.

But each leader could serve another term if they secure support from two-thirds of the Democratic caucus. The deal applies retroactively to include the two terms that Pelosi previously served as Speaker from 2007 through 2011.

Below is a full list of the 15 Democratic defectors:

Anthony Brindisi (N.Y.): former Vice President Joe Biden

Jim Cooper (Tenn.): “present”

Jason Crow (Colo.): Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)

Joe Cunningham (S.C.): Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.)

Jared Golden (Maine): Bustos

Ron Kind (Wis.): Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

Conor Lamb (Pa.): Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.)

Ben McAdams (Utah): Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.)

Kathleen Rice (N.Y.): Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams

Max Rose (N.Y.): Duckworth

Kurt Schrader (Ore.): Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio)