Dems back Pelosi as Speaker by 2-to-1 margin in new poll

Democrats back Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Speaker by a 2-1 ratio, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.

Of the Democratic voters polled, 48 percent said they think Pelosi, the current House Minority Leader, should stay the top Democrat in the House in the new Congress, while 22 say she should not be the new Speaker. These numbers contrast substantially from the general voting population, of which only 27 percent think she should be Speaker.

{mosads}Despite Democrats currently having 233 seats in the new Congress, compared to the Republican’s 200, with two elections yet to be called, Pelosi has not yet secured the 218 member votes needed for confirmation.

On Monday, a group of 16 Democrats, led by Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Tim Ryan (Ohio) and Kathleen Rice (N.Y.) submitted a letter to their colleagues urging new leadership in the party.

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), whom many in that group hoped would oppose Pelosi, endorsed Pelosi in a surprise move on Tuesday.

Pelosi’s favorable rating among Democrats in the poll is 52 percent, while 22 percent of Democratic respondents said they view her unfavorably.

Pelosi previously served as Speaker from 2007-2011 and has been the top Democrat in the House since 2003.

“Nancy Pelosi continues to be a polarizing figure in politics, but Democrats still have confidence in her taking the gavel as House speaker in January,” said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president.

The Politico/Morning Consult poll surveyed 1,957 registered voters between Nov. 15-18. The margin of error for the sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points.