Nancy Pelosi wields California Democrats' clout in bid to regain House
Undeterred by a dismal election that shrank the party's ranks in the House to their lowest level since World War II, Nancy Pelosi is building a path back to power for Democrats in Congress that relies heavily on California clout.
Pelosi won a unanimous vote Tuesday to serve again as the House Democratic leader, a result that belied private sentiment among some that the party needs a shake-up in its leadership ranks.
But Pelosi has raised more money for House Democrats than other elected leaders, including President Obama, and she makes no secret of her plan to tap the state's wealthy donor base and Democratic political tilt to propel her House minority back into the majority again.
"My thing is, I'm here on a mission to get something done," Pelosi, 74, said in an interview steps from the House floor. "But I also know that I bring with me a great deal of resources intellectual, political and financial to our opportunity to do that, to win."
Pelosi offered a brief lesson in California congressional history: The state's delegation was split evenly between Democrats and Republicans when she began her climb into leadership more than a decade ago.
After Democrats swept the 2006 elections midway through President George W. Bush's second term, Pelosi made history by becoming the first woman to be speaker of the House.
Now, despite the party's electoral losses across the nation in November, Democrats in California are actually poised to gain another congressional seat this year to make the Democratic advantage 39 to 14 in California. That comes after Bakersfield Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the new Republican majority leader, tried unsuccessfully to make greater gains for his party on her turf.
"Thirty-nine members from one state that's more than some of the regions that we cover, much less any one state," said Pelosi, who in January will also add the honorary title of dean of California's delegation as its most senior member. "I take great pride in the fact that when we won the House in 2006, it all began in California."
But Pelosi's pride in what has been called the "Golden lining" of an otherwise dismal election performance a reference to the electoral inroads made in the Golden State may only go so far in buttressing her standing in the caucus.
The House, like the Senate, will be run next year by politicians old enough to receive Social Security and who have been in Washington for decades. House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, 65, and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 72, the Republican leaders, draw on their career experience in Congress and ability to navigate through party rifts to remain in leadership.
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Nancy Pelosi wields California Democrats' clout in bid to regain House