Nancy Pelosi will remain minority leader in the House:
Pelosi’s victory was never really in doubt. The man she defeated, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, is a career back-bencher—as the Washington Post notes, he “literally sits in the last bench in the chamber”—which made his late run to lead House Democrats in the next Congress largely a symbolic gesture.
As Slate’s Jim Newell has explained, Pelosi is regarded by friends and enemies alike as both a skilled legislator and shrewd politician. Her problem, however, was that those skills haven’t translated into national success for her party lately. Following an election in which Democrats lost the White House and failed to regain control of either chamber of Congress, the 76-year-old Pelosi became an easy target for those who believe her party failed to offer a compelling pitch to the white working class.
Democrats have controlled the House for only four years of what has been Pelosi’s 14-year-and-counting run as leader of her caucus. But while their time in the minority has left many House Democrats frustrated, it wasn’t enough to deny her another two-year term.
Slate will have more analysis and reaction from Washington in a bit.
