Fox News contributor and former Obama administration spokeswoman Marie Harf said Wednesday that the Democratic Party needs to start looking beyond Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) for party leadership.
"There are people in this party who I think can take it in a different direction, and God bless Nancy Pelosi, she's been great on a lot. We really need to start looking toward the future in a more serious way," Harf said on "Outnumbered."
Harf served as the senior adviser of strategic communications under former Secretary of State John Kerry, and she was also a State Department deputy spokesperson.
The Fox News discussion came in the wake of criticism of Pelosi within Democratic Party ranks; Kansas Democratic congressional candidate Paul Davis announced this week that he would not vote for Pelosi as party leader if he reaches Congress.
Other Democrats like Reps. Tim Ryan (Ohio), Filemon Vela (Texas), Seth Moulton (Mass.), and Kathleen Rice (N.Y.) have expressed dissatisfaction with her as Republicans have gone undefeated in special election races this year.
After those lawmakers and others called for new leadership this year, Pelosi defended herself as a "master legislator."
Harf said she was "worried" that Democrats might not yet have figured out how to win in 2018. They have not been able to recapture the House of Representatives since losing it in the Tea Party wave of 2010.
"I am worried that our party, my party, has not figured out yet how to win this next election cycle," Harf said. "But I think it's not necessarily one over-arching, national message, although that's important. It's finding candidates who meet their districts."