Jeffries launches bid for House Democratic leader, promises to take back majority in 2024
Published: Friday, July 22, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 22, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is embarking on this week’s bid for the top job as leader of the Democratic caucus, and she is making her pitch for the leadership position in the mold of her father in a nationally televised debate Thursday night with Democratic opponents.
Pelosi is a charismatic public speaker with a history of leadership, and she also has the fundraising wherewithal to carry the day.
“Leadership in this city is being elected and being voted for by a majority of the voters. We need a person that can help us to do that,” Pelosi said in remarks to a packed South Hall gallery at a high-profile annual meeting of the Democratic Caucus on Wednesday.
“The other two people leading this caucus right now are a woman and a man that have been elected by the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said.
“They are not doing a very good job,” she added. “They are not doing a very good job, and we need to find a new leader.”
The top of the Democratic leadership ladder is not as tall as it used to be. Pelosi is the first female and first openly gay House leader in history. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland has his sights set on retiring and the party is in no hurry to find another man to replace him as No. 2 in leadership.
Two women are already in the running for the position: Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Pa.), who is African American, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who is a woman and first female speaker of the House.
The winner of Wednesday’s leadership race will take over as the next leader of the Democratic Caucus after the election scheduled for Nov. 8.
Pelosi, 63, who was elected to serve her seventh term as Speaker of
