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Despite Dems grumbling, leader Pelosi is a survivor

FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2016, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. pauses during an election day news conference at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Headquarters in Washington. Pelosi is a survivor, who enjoys enormous respect and goodwill among most Democrats, even as many of her closest allies have left Congress. She has managed to maintain unity within the diverse flock of House Democrats and is an unparalleled fundraiser for them, collecting more than $100 million in the past cycle alone. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2016, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. pauses during an election day news conference at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Headquarters in Washington. Pelosi is a survivor, who enjoys enormous respect and goodwill among most Democrats, even as many of her closest allies have left Congress. She has managed to maintain unity within the diverse flock of House Democrats and is an unparalleled fundraiser for them, collecting more than $100 million in the past cycle alone. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2016, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. pauses during an election day news conference at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Headquarters in Washington. Pelosi is a survivor, who enjoys enormous respect and goodwill among most Democrats, even as many of her closest allies have left Congress. She has managed to maintain unity within the diverse flock of House Democrats and is an unparalleled fundraiser for them, collecting more than $100 million in the past cycle alone. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – When Nancy Pelosi travels from her home in San Francisco to her job in Washington as House Democratic leader, she flies over millions of voters whom Democrats relied on for decades but who rejected the party this year.

The Democrats’ shellacking in the election – below-expectations gains in the House plus the White House loss and minimal wins in the Senate – produced party grumbling that the 76-year-old California liberal may not be the best messenger to lead those once-core Democratic voters back into the fold.

“Who is the leader that can go into those Southern states and Midwestern states and begin to pull those voters back into our corner?” asked Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who is mulling a challenge to Pelosi. If Democrats “don’t get working people back to work, we are never gonna get the majority back,” Ryan added.

In the words of Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.: “The American people sent us a message loud and clear. We need to listen to that message and we need to respond.”

Despite the discontent, Pelosi is a survivor who enjoys enormous respect and goodwill among most Democrats, even as many of her closest allies have left Congress. She has managed to maintain unity within the diverse flock of House Democrats and is an unparalleled fundraiser for them, collecting more than $100 million in the past cycle alone.