Poll: One-Third of Democrats Want To Replace Pelosi as House Speaker

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Dec 23, 2020 05:54 AM EST

Some Democratic voters want House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the top leadership position, according to a new poll.

The survey was from Politico/Morning Consult, which was released on Tuesday. The poll showed that 33 percent of self-identified Democrats wanted lawmakers to choose someone else for House Speaker's role, as reported by Newsweek.

Around 53 percent of the survey Democratic participants said Pelosi should remain as House Speaker. On the other hand, 83 percent of self-identified Republicans opposed what could be Pelosi's fourth term as a speaker.

Independent voters supported her reelection to the position by 59 to 22 percent. Overall, 56 percent of all registered voters said Congress should choose someone else in the House speaker's position, and 31 percent of the respondents said lawmakers should keep Pelosi in power.

Pelosi Reelected

Pelosi was reelected in the position last month by her caucus for the next session in Congress. This marks her fourth term with the role, according to an NPR report.

The caucus vote was done virtually, but Pelosi was approved by a voice vote. The 80-year-old House Speaker did not face any challenge for her post.

However, she would also need to secure a simple majority, which is 218 Democratic votes, by the full House of Representatives in January for her to be sworn again as the speaker.

Pelosi implied after the vote that the upcoming term could be her last. Some Democrats voted for someone other than her on the floor in 2019. But with a slimmer margin in the majority after the 2020 election, she cannot lose more than a handful of votes.

"As we go forward with liberty and justice for all, we must do so listening to the American people, listening to each other with respect, acting to unify - Joe Biden is a unifier, so that will make it easier for us - remembering the guidance of our Founders: E pluribus unum, from many, one," Pelosi said in a report.

House Democrats are holding leadership votes as they try to wrestle with unexpected losses. Also, the Republicans seem to maintain control of the Senate.

Pelosi agreed to limit herself to two terms as speaker when she was reelected two years ago. But the caucus never officially adopted rules to lock in the term limit for the speaker.

Pelosi suggested that she would stick by that commitment after she won the support from her colleagues.

According to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, it was time for Pelosi to step away from the position, as reported by Morning Consult. Aside from Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez noted that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should also vacate his position.

However, the New York representative said there are no viable alternatives available for the House and Senate positions at the moment as the caucus' current leaders did not groom any next generation of leadership, as The Intercept reported.

Ocasio-Cortez added that the structural shifts of power in the House, in process and rule, concentrate to power in party leadership of both parties.