going into 2018, house minority leader nancy pelosi, shown on nov. 17, 2016, says democrats have an opportunity to take back the house in a repeat of the 2006 election.  | john shinkle/politico one possible rival for minority leader took a pass, but another is still deciding. by john bresnahan and heather caygle 11/17/16 03:02 pm est updated 11/17/16 03:02 pm est minority leader nancy pelosi is waiting to see whether someone will challenge her for her job. in the meantime, she's reliving her glory days of a decade ago. story continued below with rep. tim ryan of ohio, considering running against her <u+2014> the first potential challenge to her hold on the house democratic caucus since 2010 <u+2014> pelosi refused to directly address criticism of her leadership among rank-and-file members. she received good news thursday afternoon when one potential rival, rep. joseph crowley of new york, said he would not challenge her and will run for caucus chair instead. at a news conference hours before crowley's announcement, pelosi declared that she was once speaker of the house <u+2014> and said she knows how to lead democrats back to the promised land. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t want to respond to that,<u+201d> pelosi said when asked about the dissent within her caucus. pelosi was forced to delay leadership elections for two weeks after members pressed for a review of the party's message and tactics during the election. <u+201c>in 2005 and 2006, i orchestrated the take-back of the house of representatives ... i<u+2019>m very proud to have the opportunity, i know how to do it, how to get it done, but i<u+2019>m not responding to that.<u+201d> <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t see anything about what is being suggested now as anything but the friendship of all of us," pelosi added. "we are family. i never said unanimity, but i did say unified.<u+201d> by rachael bade pelosi served as speaker from 2006 to 2010, when the democratic majority was wiped out in a wave of anti-obamacare fervor. since then, democrats' fortunes have been up or down each cycle, but they have never seriously threatened to regain the majority. democratic leaders blame redistricting, but junior lawmakers say the party is not doing enough to appeal to middle-class white voters. pelosi also claimed to have the overwhelming support of her colleagues, more than enough to defeat crowley or ryan. <u+201c>without even asking anybody for a vote, i have over two-thirds of the caucus supporting me, " pelosi said. <u+201c>when somebody challenges you, your supporters turn out.<u+201d> pelosi also took a shot at hillary clinton for failing to devise an economic message that appealed to suburban and rural voters, although she never used clinton's name. <u+201c>a lot of it was beyond our control," pelosi said of the election results. yet this week showed there are chinks in pelosi's armor. dissatisfaction with her is at its highest level in a half-dozen years, and she's trying to unveil a new agenda for democrats as they struggle with the thought of living in a donald trump-run washington. pelosi would almost certainly defeat any potential threat to her leadership, barring a dramatic reversal in the mood among house democrats. but she may be forced to make some concessions. ryan seems on the verge of running against pelosi. the ohio democrat promised a decision sometime thursday. by shane goldmacher and andrew restuccia "i think we need a change. i don't think there's any question about it, i think we need a change," ryan said after a closed-door meeting of house democrats thursday. "i personally don't believe we can win the house back with the current leadership." ryan added: "i hate to say it, i love nancy pelosi, but something needs to be done." crowley, who is line to become democratic caucus chairman, is being lobbied to run by the same group of members who sought the delay in leadership elections. those proceedings have been postponed until nov. 30. but the new york democrat refused to say whether he would jump in. "i continue to appreciate the comments from my colleagues. we continue to learn from them about what took place during this election," crowley said. "i'm going to continue to listen to my colleagues." if crowley did get in, ryan would probably pass on the race or drop out if he was already in. crowley would be the more formidable of the two. but it's unclear whether crowley or ryan could dramatically expand their base of anti-pelosi votes. it is difficult to gauge the level of opposition to pelosi, but it is likely at least 25 to 30 members. another two dozen or so are on the fence <u+2014> they will back pelosi unless a viable challenger emerges. by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
pelosi relives glory days as potential challenge looms - politico
john bresnahan heather caygle rachael bade shane goldmacher andrew restuccia michael grunwald