Anti-Pelosi House Democrats don't have a candidate, don't have momentum, don't appear worried

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to easily win Wednesday's contest to become the House Democratic nominee for incoming House speaker, but her campaign to be elected House speaker by the full Congress on Jan. 3 is complicated by two small factions of Democrats. Pelosi is set to meet Tuesday night with one of the groups, nine Democrats in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus who are requesting she support "Break the Gridlock" rules, but the other, larger faction is insisting on new leadership.

This group, led by Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.) and Tim Ryan (Ohio), doesn't have a rival candidate, especially after potential challenger Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) threw her support behind Pelosi. And they say that isn't a problem. "The whole concept of you can't beat somebody with nobody is a Nancy Pelosi talking point," said Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.). "The first step is showing that she cannot get to 218," she added, "and then I believe the challengers will emerge that can allow new members to say, Okay here's another possibility, now I get it."

That group had 16 signatories to a letter vowing to oppose Pelosi, but one of the signatories, Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), endorsed Pelosi and another, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), said Sunday he would vote for her over any Republican on Jan. 3. Assuming Democrats end up with 234 seats, they will have a 17-seat majority, meaning Pelosi can lose no more than 16 Democrats. In 2016, 63 Democrats voted against Pelosi for House minority leader in caucus, but only four voted against her on the House floor, Politico notes.

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Pelosi has the support of many of the party's rising stars, labor unions, advocacy groups, and former President Barack Obama. Most House Democrats don't seem to relish the idea of a divisive floor battle in January. "If the first Democratic value they see is chaos," Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va). tells The Associated Press, "I don't think that's very good."