Pelosi Opposes ‘Democratic Socialists’ Challenging Dem Incumbents..@@!!!

Retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is definitely liberal on virtually every domestic policy issue, but she’s not a fan of her party’s rising left-wing ‘democratic socialist’ wing. And she said as much earlier this month after Democratic Socialists of America candidates managed to knock off incumbent Democrats in several primaries in recent weeks. Speaking at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, Pelosi said this is not a good year for the DSA insurgency as her party angles to win back control of at least the House in the midterms.

“Well, let us again define our terms. I was not for candidates coming in and running against our incumbents because we needed to win the House. In other words, weighing the equities,” she said, noting that the goal is to win back power. “No – I wasn’t happy about people saying, ‘Let’s spend a whole lot of money challenging Democrats,'” she said. “You want to do that? Do that, but don’t think that that’s something that is good for this year,” she added. “Do it a year when we have the luxury of having the majority, but not when we’re trying to-you can’t gain by losing.”

Pelosi continued, “Can’t lose your members. The idea is that there will be those who will be out there to just take down the incumbents when this is our year to honor the Constitution of the United States. “I’m not for that. You run any time you want. Do whatever you want to do,” she went on. “But don’t expect that to be welcome when we’ve got to stay completely focused on saving the Constitution,” Pelosi said, falsely suggesting that the nation’s founding document is at risk under President Donald Trump and the GOP majority.

Democratic Socialist Support Growing Among Party Members

Nancy Pelosi scolds young socialist candidates for taking on incumbents this election cycle “I wasn’t happy about people saying, ‘Let’s spend a whole lot of money challenging Democrats.’ You wanna do that? Do that. But don’t think that that’s something that is good for this… pic.twitter.com/QTBZGbHMPM – Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 14, 2026

Nancy Pelosi scolds young socialist candidates for taking on incumbents this election cycle

"I wasn't happy about people saying, 'Let's spend a whole lot of money challenging Democrats.' You wanna do that? Do that. But don't think that that's something that is good for this… pic.twitter.com/QTBZGbHMPM

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 14, 2026

But that said, it’s possible that Pelosi’s brand of Democrat politics is waning. About one-third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults identify as democratic socialists, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. The survey found that while these voters remain among the Democratic Party’s most loyal supporters, many also favor significant changes within the party as democratic socialist candidates continue to gain momentum in elections.

Following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory over Andrew Cuomo last year, several candidates identifying as democratic socialists have won Democratic nominations in U.S. House races, including successful primary challenges against incumbent Reps. Adriano Espaillat of New York and Diana DeGette of Colorado. Upcoming primary elections will help determine whether that momentum can extend beyond traditionally Democratic areas. Recent polling in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, for example, found democratic socialist Francesca Hong leading the field in the closely watched battleground state.

Poll Shows Socialist Wing Wants Party Reforms

Democratic socialists are about as likely as other Democratic-leaning Americans to believe the Democratic Party needs either a complete overhaul or major reforms. However, they are more likely to view changes in the party’s leadership and the nomination of younger candidates as positive developments, CNN said. The poll also found that democratic socialists are nearly twice as likely as other Democratic-leaning adults to support moving the Democratic Party further to the left on policy issues, the survey noted.

As far as who makes up the socialist-leaning members of the party, CNN said the survey found they: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.