Dem donors praise Pelosi in letter of support

A group of top donors to the Democratic Party’s House campaign arm on Tuesday urged Democratic lawmakers to keep current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the party’s leader, backing her bid for Speaker of the House as Democrats take the majority in the lower chamber.

In a letter to House Democrats obtained by Politico, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) donors expressed support for Pelosi and argued that funding may decrease with a Democratic caucus under different leadership.

{mosads}”[T]he competence and effectiveness of the Leader is a critical component in motivating us to reach in our pockets. On that basis it is hard to imagine a replacement for Nancy engendering the same level of confidence at this critical time,” the donors write.

“Your recent success in winning the majority is only a first step in changing our country’s direction. As critical as it was, the coming cycle is even more so,” they added.

The letter, organized by former 12-year Democratic National Committee (DNC) member and longtime donor Dennis Mehiel, was co-signed by more than a dozen other major donors and warned of a return to the “structural disadvantage that prevailed for many years” should Pelosi be ousted in leadership elections.

Pelosi’s tenure as the Democratic House leader remains in flux as 16 Democratic members of Congress on Monday signed a letter expressing opposition to her election as Speaker, while others are known to be on the fence on her Speaker bid as well.

A CBS News poll published Monday found that 40 percent of the Democrats surveyed would rather see someone else become Speaker in January when the new Congress takes office.

No public challengers to Pelosi have been announced, though the congresswoman’s opponents have been lobbying Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to run against her.

Pelosi and Fudge held a “candid and respectful” talk last week, according to Pelosi, brokered by Fudge’s fellow Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

Fudge has been largely silent since the meeting, and it’s unclear whether she will mount a bid as members of the CBC have largely come out in support of the minority leader.