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Pelosi Says She Plans to Stay in Leadership

“It’s important that it not be five white guys at the table”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she plans on running for speaker if Democrats win the majority in November. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she plans on running for speaker if Democrats win the majority in November. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi plans on staying in leadership if Democrats win back the chamber in November.

“We will win. I will run for speaker. I feel confident about it. And my members do, too,” the California Democrat told The Boston Globe on Tuesday. She was in Boston for a Democratic fundraiser hosted by Massachusetts Rep. Katherine M. Clark.

Pelosi said it was important to have a woman in leadership, especially after Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 presidential contest.

“It’s important that it not be five white guys at the table, no offense,” she said. “I have no intention of walking away from that table.”

Pelosi’s remarks come as House Democratic leadership has been divided about what should happen if the party fails to win a majority this fall.

House Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn told Politico at an event in South Carolina last month that the Democratic leadership team should be ousted if November doesn’t go the party’s way.

But House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer was mum about the question last week, saying Democrats will win so he “does not have to consider that.”

Pelosi said being a frequent target of Republican attacks reflects positively on her.

“The more they do it, the more money I raise,” she said. “Because I have a following.”

She raised $16 million for the party in the first quarter of 2018.

Watch: Democrats Have At Least 20 House Takeover Opportunities in These 4 States

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Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a frequent Pelosi critic who backed Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan’s unsuccessful leadership challenge to her in 2016, told the Globe it was time for change at the top.

“I think there’s a strong desire out there in America for new leadership in Washington, not just getting rid of Republicans but getting new leadership in the Democratic Party,” he said.

But Massachusetts Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, who also backed Ryan’s challenge, said it was too early to speculate about leadership changes.

“We’ve really got to focus on getting the House back, and then we can begin infighting after,” he told the newspaper.

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