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Nancy Pelosi had earlier considered delaying leadership elections before settling on holding them Thursday. | Getty

Several House Democrats say they need more time to discuss their leadership makeup.

By Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan

11/13/16 07:46 PM EST

Updated 11/13/16 07:48 PM EST

A group of House Democrats is pushing to delay its leadership elections, saying lawmakers need more time to evaluate what went wrong and map out next steps after the party's "devastating" showing in the election.

The group is not explicitly calling for a change in House leadership but wants to have a discussion about it. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top House Democrats are aware of their request.

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Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Kathleen Rice (N.Y.), and Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) have signed on to the letter, which is addressed to Pelosi. More than 20 other Democrats are also supporting the delay, but their names have not been released yet. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) had signed on to the letter but then dropped off.

Pelosi had earlier considered delaying leadership elections before settling on holding them Nov. 17. A source close to the issue says the group of junior members wants to wait until sometime in December.

The top four Democratic positions - minority leader, minority whip, assistant minority leader, and Democratic Caucus chair - will be selected that day. Other leadership positions and ranking member posts will be tapped later.

"It is vital that our Caucus take the time to listen to the American people and learn the lessons of this difficult election in order to put our Caucus in the best position to fight the potentially dangerous agenda of President-elect Donald Trump and to have a realistic chance of taking back the House in 2018," the group writes.

"Therefore, we ask that you postpone leadership elections at least until after the Thanksgiving recess."

Several Democrats have grumbled privately since the election that something needs to change after House Democrats picked up only a handful of seats. Pelosi and other party leaders were anticipating large gains with Trump at the top of the GOP ticket, and several weeks before the election, some Democrats believed a takeover was within reach.

Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) have led the caucus for more than a decade.

"Only by taking the time to find the hard truths can we formulate a comprehensive path forward, which could include the composition of our caucus leadership and the roles and responsibilities of each leadership position," the Democrats write in the letter.

"This type of family conversation will take time, but it is absolutely necessary to put us in the best position to take back control of the House."

Pelosi's office has not formally responded yet.

Separately, more than three dozen female House Democrats are circulating a letter saying Pelosi should remain Democratic leader.

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