washington<u+2014>ohio rep. tim ryan on thursday formally declared a bid to challenge house minority leader nancy pelosi of california for the top spot in the caucus, setting up a fight among democrats over who should lead them as they rebuild after disappointing election results. the 43-year-old democrat made his decision to run after he was drafted into action by a group of his colleagues, many of them young and many from parts of the country that have felt underrepresented within the house democratic caucus. in a letter to colleagues, mr. ryan said democrats could expect <u+201c>more disappointment in future elections<u+201d> unless the party shook up its leadership team. <u+201c>at this time of fear and disillusionment, we owe it to our constituencies to listen and bring a new voice into leadership,<u+201d> he wrote. mr. ryan is taking on an old-school politician whose skills have been years in the making. now 76 years old, mrs. pelosi has been the top democrat in the house for almost 14 years, putting her in the ranks of the longest-serving house democrats. her leadership surpasses that of even legendary house speaker tip o<u+2019>neill, a democrat who served five terms as house speaker. earlier thursday, mrs. pelosi indicated that she was up for a fight. stepping before the washington press corps, she said her state had been the source of the money and political resources that helped democrats win control of the house in 2006, and she said that her colleagues had been eager to defend her when they learned she might face a leadership challenge. <u+201c>without even asking anybody for a vote, i have two-thirds of the caucus supporting me,<u+201d> mrs. pelosi said. the party<u+2019>s internal elections are scheduled for nov. 30. for days, democrats have hashed out the reasons for their lackluster performance in last week<u+2019>s elections, when the party won seats in the single digits after just weeks earlier projecting that it would sweep a net 20 seats or even more. some blamed the party<u+2019>s failure to reach out to white, working-class voters, many of whom live in states like pennsylvania that had once been seen as a blue wall that would always swing toward the democrats. at a closed-door meeting of house democrats earlier thursday, the rank and file pushed leaders to take some responsibility for the lackluster performance in the elections and pressed the party to make changes. <u+201c>when somebody challenges you, your supporters turn out both internally in the caucus and the country,<u+201d> said mrs. pelosi, who a day earlier had formally declared she would run again for the top democratic post and said she already had the support of more than two-thirds of the caucus members. <u+201c>it almost did me a favor,<u+201d> she said. when he left the meeting briefly, mr. ryan said there were a number of people in the caucus who were anxious and wanted a change. in deciding to compete against mrs. pelosi, mr. ryan will likely rely on the support of a younger group that is concerned the party lacks a farm team and is worried that democratic leaders are unable to see the reasons for democrats<u+2019> weak showing in nov. 8 elections. house democrats have won a net six seats, with a handful of races still too close to call, after earlier predicting that they would gain a net 20 seats. the party lost control of the house in the 2010 republican wave. <u+201c>we cannot go year to year every two years blaming some external factor that has caused this caucus somehow not to succeed,<u+201d> said rep. ruben gallego, (d., ariz.), echoing remarks he said he delivered behind closed doors on thursday. mrs. pelosi has challenged such analyses, pointing to factors like the federal bureau of investigation director james comey<u+2019>s decision to announce in late october the discovery of emails that could potentially bear on a closed investigation into democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton <u+2019>s email server arrangement. <u+201c>we cannot be taking the full responsibility for what happened in the election,<u+201d> mrs. pelosi told reporters. <u+201c>a lot of it was beyond our control.<u+201d> mrs. pelosi prides herself on being a good listener, and the night before she turned up at an event in washington, d.c.<u+2019>s hip h street corridor that was organized by rep. eric swalwell (d., calif.), who chairs a group called future forum that represents members who are 40 years old and younger. mr. swalwell, 36 years old, is throwing his weight behind his fellow california lawmaker, saying that younger members should back her too. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m just trying to do everything i can to make sure that leader pelosi comes back but has new energy behind her,<u+201d> mr. swalwell said. rep. joe crowley (d., n.y.), who also had been pressed to make a bid for the minority leader post, said that he would run instead to serve as chairman of the house democratic caucus. he currently serves as vice chairman and is seen as a heavy favorite. rep. linda sanchez (d., calif.) is running to be vice chair. write to siobhan hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com corrections & amplifications: rep. linda sanchez is running to be vice chair of the house democratic caucus. an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that she was challenging rep. joe crowley for the position of chairman. (nov. 17)
tim ryan announces bid to challenge nancy pelosi for house minority leader - wsj
siobhan hughes