Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., faces an uphill battle in her bid to become the next speaker of the House, with 17 Democrats — three more than she can afford — saying they will oppose her when the full House votes on its next leader Jan. 3.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Pelosi still has some work to do if she wants to wield the speaker's gavel once the new Congress is installed next year.
No one has come forward to say they will run against Pelosi, and she spent much of Wednesday campaigning in the halls of Congress to her fellow Democrats — one week after they regained control of the House chamber.
"I think there are some great people that will be coming forward, and I'm excited to see who those people might be," said Rep.-Elect Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., according to the Post.
"They haven't identified themselves yet, but we have such a deep bench of talent in the Democratic Party."
If the Democrats end up with 232 House seats, Pelosi can only afford to lose 14 Democratic votes if she wants to be the next speaker.
On the Republican side, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was elected House minority leader in a private vote Wednesday.