WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Bernie Sanders’ ascendancy as Democrats’ leading presidential hopeful fueled growing unease Wednesday, as lawmakers openly expressed anxiety that the self-proclaimed democratic socialist could cost them House control and questions abounded over what party leaders should do.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., projected calm – and neutrality – as she batted away reporters’ queries about whether it was time for her to try thwarting Sanders to protect her party’s majority.
“We’re not going to lose the House,” she said. “We’re going to be united by whomever is the candidate for president. But we are taking responsibility for winning the House, and we’re not assuming anything. But we feel very confident.”
She delivered a similar message to colleagues at a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning, when she told them, “We cannot show any division. This has to be about unity, unity, unity.” Her remarks were described by a Democratic aide on condition of anonymity to relay private comments.
Yet with Sanders, I-Vt., riding high after early nominating contest wins in New Hampshire and Nevada and a virtual first-place tie in Iowa, other House Democrats were less sanguine.