Congresswoman-elect Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) said on Monday she won't vote for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to be speaker of the House when Democrats take over the House in the new year.
MSNBC reporter Kasie Hunt asked Spanberger if her opposition to Pelosi during the campaign means she would still vote against Pelosi if no other Democrat challenges her for the speakership.
"I want to ask you, though, as Joe noted at the top of this, you have spoken out against Nancy Pelosi, said Democrats need new leadership. The reality, though, is it's not clear there is going to be somebody to step up and run against her. And even if they did inside the conference, she may still be the choice. What would you do if you go down to -- if it goes to the floor, will you vote against Nancy Pelosi on the floor if it's the choice between her and a Republican?" Hunt asked.
"You know, I've been very clear with my voters on this since the beginning. I'm going to vote for someone who I believe is going to be a new voice in the conversation in Washington. And I have tremendous respect for everything that leader Pelosi has been able to accomplish thus far in her very distinguished career in Congress," Spanberger said. "But I do think it is a time as we have such an incredible level of divisiveness in our political rhetoric and discussions. We need new leaders in the conversations."
"You will vote for somebody else on the floor of the House even if it means voting for somebody of the other party?" Hunt asked.
"No. I will be voting for someone who represents the values I'm working to achieve for our district. I'm a Democrat, I'm a strong Democrat," Spanberger said. "And I believe we need new representation within the Democratic party, but representation at the speaker level that will be driving productive conversations in this new post-2018 election era. And that's who I'll be voting for."
Spranberger defeated Republican incumbent Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Throughout the campaign, Brat tried to tie his Democratic opponent to Pelosi by saying a vote for Spranberger was a vote for Pelosi. In July, Spranberger announced if she were to be elected, she would vote against Pelosi to be speaker.