On March 13, Conor Lamb delighted most Democrats with his apparent upset win in the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. But one of Lamb’s campaign promises had raised eyebrows: The candidate openly endorsed replacing Nancy Pelosi as leader of the House Democrats, perhaps because she has long been unpopular. Other Democratic candidates for Congress also have been distancing themselves from Pelosi, suggesting that her future as Democratic leader may be in danger.
Some Pelosi defenders have suggested that sexism lies behind her unpopularity. As Peter Beinart of the Atlantic writes, “Nancy Pelosi does her job about as well as anyone could. But because she’s a woman, she may not be doing it well enough.”
While gender bias may be why some voters judge Pelosi harshly, closer analysis suggests a more straightforward explanation for why she is unpopular: She was the speaker of the House. CONT.
Matthew Green (Catholic U.), Monkey Cage