Pelosi Thanks Al Sharpton for ‘Saving America’

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Wednesday praised MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton and thanked him for "saving America." Pelosi spoke at the National Action Network's (NAN) legislative and policy conference, where she laid out the Democratic Party's agenda before introducing Sharpton, who founded the non-profit civil rights organization in 1991. The organization was focused on turning out voters during the midterms.

"We are going to be visionary. We are going to be unifying. We are going to be healing. We are going to be transparent in how we do this. We are going to be respectful of other views, but we are going to try to find our common ground where we can," Pelosi said. "We have a responsibility to do that, but where we can't, stand our ground like a rock. That's what Thomas Jefferson advised us to do." She went on to tell the conference attendees about how she has received so many letters and phone calls from people thanking her for "saving America." She then said that she would like to give the thanks to the attendees before she introduced Sharpton and thanked him for "saving America," in a clip first flagged by Grabien. Sharpton, a progressive firebrand and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, hosts MSNBC's "PoliticsNation" on Saturdays and Sundays and has been floated as a potential Democratic contender in the 2020 race to try to defeat Trump. Regarding a presidential run, Sharpton in August told Buzzfeed that he never "rule[s]anything out."

https://freebeacon.com/politics/pelosi-thanks-al-sharpton-for-saving-america/

Dem Rep-Elect Expresses Concern He Could Face Retribution for Not Supporting Pelosi

Congressman-elect Jeff Van Drew (D., N.J.) on Wednesday expressed concern he may face repercussions if he doesn't support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to be the next House speaker. Van Drew, who will represent New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District, told CNN reporter Manu Raju outside the U.S. Capitol that he fears retribution if he does not support Pelosi in the upcoming leadership elections, according to a clip flagged by the NTK Network.

"Are you concerned about backlash if you vote against her and she becomes the speaker, [that] this could hurt you getting committee assignments and other things?" Raju asked. "I guess, you know, to be totally objective, I would have to say yes," Van Drew said. "However, I’m always very hopeful that we all rise above that, and this is America and we’re allowed to have different viewpoints and still move forward."

Van Drew has repeatedly said he won't support Pelosi. He initially vowed to oppose Pelosi in a June statement, where he said Democrats needed to "change the leadership." "We need to change the leadership in Washington. After more than a decade of leading House Democrats as Speaker and Minority Leader, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi will not have my support as leader in the next session," Van Drew said. "After this election, I will carefully consider the potential candidates and support the person who will best stand with us in our fight for South Jersey families. Right now, I'm focused on earning the support of voters in the 2nd district, and the many pressing issues facing South Jersey families and our great country." Pelosi is currently running unopposed and has called on Democrats to "be unified," despite a group of House Democrats working together in an attempt to deny her the votes to take over as speaker, according to CNN. "In the next few weeks, we need to be unified, find common ground with Republicans in our legislative engagements, but stand our ground when we must," Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democratic colleagues earlier this week. The speaker election won't take place until January when the new Congress comes into session.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/dem-rep-elect-expresses-concern-he-could-face-retribution-for-not-supporting-pelosi/

Dem Operative: Democrats Need to Switch Up Battleground-State Strategy by Focusing on Georgia, Arizona

Democratic operative Michael Halle said Democrats need to change their ground game strategy in preparation for the 2020 presidential election, turning their focus to Arizona and Georgia in place of Iowa and Ohio. Halle, who ran Hillary Clinton’s losing battleground-state strategy and managed Richard Cordray’s gubernatorial loss this year, told New York Times reporter Lisa Lerer that the Midwestern states are not as favorable to Democrats because of their rural, white populations. He also said their media markets are more expensive. "It’s kind of scary, because Ohio and Iowa are two states that Obama won in both his presidential campaigns, and now they’re just not competitive in the way they once were," Halle said. "We are at a place where we need to expand the map.

Guy Cecil, chairman of the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA, appeared to agree with Halle after looking at his group's data from the 2018 midterms. The numbers showed that Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina could be potential expansion states during the 2020 election. "If you look at the results from 2016 and 2018, right now that would be the case," Cecil said. He said the potential shift might change depending on who wins the nomination in 2020, but he added that spending money makes more sense in those states versus Iowa and Ohio.

Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.), a former congresswoman who voted with President Donald Trump more than 50 percent of the time, portrayed herself as an independent voice for Arizonans during her 2018 campaign, telling constituents that she would not support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) for leadership if she was elected. However, Schumer tweeted out a picture on Twitter Tuesday showing a meeting with Sinema, who was smiling beside him. "Women of the West. Two new great women Democratic senators from the western part of the United States, Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona and Jacky Rosen from Nevada. So proud we’ll be working with them in January," Schumer tweeted. Schumer was re-elected minority leader on Wednesday during closed-door proceedings, according to a person familiar with the process who spoke to the Washington Post.

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