The Democratic nominee in New York's 11th congressional district said Tuesday that he will not vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to lead House Democrats if he is elected in November.
Max Rose told CBS News that he will not back the current House minority leader in her bid to maintain the top spot in the Democratic caucus.
"No," Rose said when asked whether he would support Pelosi. "I believe that the Democratic Party is in urgent need of new leadership."
"The party has lost the trust of voters, not only in my district, but throughout the country, and believe me, if you separate the parties and you just look at our policies—infrastructure, equitable growth, lowering per capita health care costs—those policies have massive support," he added. "But we've got to move towards being also a party that can garner people's trust and keep it, and we're not going to accomplish that without new leadership."
Rose, who is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Donovan, did not specify whom he would support over Pelosi.
New York's 11th district, which includes Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, was the only district in New York City that President Donald Trump won in 2016. The Cook Political Report rates the district as a "likely" Republican seat in the 2018 midterm elections, although political scientist Larry Sabato grades it as only "leaning" Republican.
Rose said he thinks the district could flip to the Democrats, arguing that "people wanna vote for the person, not the party."
"They want an independent fighter, an independent leader, someone who is gonna do what they say down in Washington D.C.," he said. "They certainly haven't seen that from my opponent Dan Donovan and they haven't seen that from politicians on both sides of the aisle for more than a generation now."
Rose is the latest of several Democratic congressional candidates to publicly oppose backing Pelosi for House leadership. Last month, Rep. Brian Higgins (D., N.Y.) said that he will not support Pelosi for another term as the Democratic leader in the House, calling her "aloof, frenetic, and misguided." One week later, only one of 10 Democrats running for Congress in New Hampshire's first district said they would support Pelosi for speaker of the House, if Democrats retake the chamber.
Clarke Tucker, a congressional candidate in Arkansas, released an ad telling voters he would also not support Pelosi, adding that "my priority is our families and our future, not the politics of the past."
Pelosi dismissed Democrats who want new leadership as "inconsequential" in a recent interview.
"They don't have a following in our caucus. None," she said.