Indiana Dem candidate vows not to support Pelosi for Speaker if elected

A Democrat running to replace Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) says he will support a new candidate to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the top Democrat in the House if the party re-takes the Speaker’s gavel in November’s midterm elections.

Mel Hall said in a statement Wednesday that “career politicians” in both major political parties deserve blame for Washington’s state of affairs, adding that he would support an alternative to Pelosi for Speaker of the House if Democrats are successful in taking back the lower chamber.

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“I do not currently support and will not support Nancy Pelosi for leadership in the next Congress,” Hall said. “Washington is broken – and career politicians in both parties are to blame.”

“People are working hard in the 2nd District, but Congress isn’t working for them,” he continued. “And, in my experience on the farm, as a minister, and in business, when something isn’t working you fix it.”

Hall is running in Indiana’s 2nd congressional district, which is rated “likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report and where Walorski won reelection in 2016 with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Pelosi has become a polarizing issue in the midterms, with multiple red-state Democrats distancing themselves from her. The former Speaker has denied that she is hurting prospects, arguing that Democrats are still winning in red states.

The CEO and former Methodist minister added in his statement that he is refusing money from corporate PACs and lobbyists, and called on both Republicans and Democrats to elect new leadership.

“Electing new leadership – in both parties – is an important step in getting Congress to work for the people who elected them instead of simply helping themselves,” he said. “Finally, Hoosiers in northern Indiana need a representative in Congress who will be a problem solver and serve as an independent voice.”

Hall will face Walorski in November’s general election after he defeated several Democratic candidates in a crowded primary in May, winning 47 percent of the vote, according to the South Bend Tribune.