Former US House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has stated that Democrats might have performed better in Tuesday’s election if President Joe Biden had exited the race earlier.
Pelosi’s remarks are the latest in a series of recriminations among Democrats following their loss of the White House and potential loss of both chambers of Congress.
She suggested that if President Joe Biden had exited the race earlier, there might have been a more competitive primary for the Democratic nomination, which could have helped Vice President Kamala Harris perform better in the general election. Pelosi’s statement highlights how her efforts to encourage Biden to step aside earlier were meant to open up the field for other candidates, ultimately giving Harris a stronger position.
Her comments come amid reports that Pelosi spearheaded efforts within the Democratic Party to push Biden out of the race. Biden eventually withdrew at the end of July, following sustained pressure and a poor debate showing against Donald Trump.
After stepping down, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. However, Harris suffered a significant defeat to President-elect Trump in Tuesday’s election.
In an interview with the New York Times, Pelosi remarked, “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary.”
She suggested that such a primary, featuring multiple Democratic contenders vying for the nomination, could have bolstered Harris’s candidacy and strengthened her position.
Pelosi argued that Harris would have benefited from the competitive nature of an open primary process, which might have better prepared her for the general election.
The aftermath of the election has sparked internal debate among Democrats about strategic missteps and what might have been done differently to secure a stronger outcome for the party.
“But we don’t know that. That didn’t happen. We live with what happened,” she said
Meanwhile, Pelosi, the California congresswoman, was re-elected to her 20th term in the House on Tuesday.
She said, “And because the president endorsed Kamala Harris immediately, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time.
“If it had been much earlier, it would have been different.”
Also speaking to political news outlet Politico, Harris aides also laid the blame at Biden’s feet. They said he should have bowed out sooner.
An aide said: “We ran the best campaign we could, considering Joe Biden was president.
“Joe Biden is the singular reason Kamala Harris and Democrats lost tonight.”
The race has also raised questions about how early strategic decisions—such as Biden’s late withdrawal—impacted the election outcome and the Democratic Party’s overall strategy moving forward. The tension within the party indicates a deeper conversation about leadership, campaign effectiveness, and future directions.