Danny O'Connor, a Democratic congressional candidate in Ohio, attempted to dodge on Tuesday when asked if he would support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), only to say in the end that he would.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews asked O'Connor if he would vote for Pelosi to be the next speaker of the House if Democrats were to gain control of the House and he's elected in the Aug. 7 special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District. O'Connor faces state Sen. Troy Balderson (R.) to replace retired Rep. Pat Tiberi (R.).
"What about Nancy Pelosi? The first vote you have to cast when you become a member of Congress is to vote for the leader of your party that's nominated for speaker," Matthews said. "Who you going to vote for for speaker?"
"I don't know who's going to run but I know—" O'Connor started before Matthews cut in.
"Pelosi's running for reelection, she said so," Matthews said.
O'Connor said both parties needed change, and the MSNBC host continued to press O'Connor on whether he would support Pelosi in order for a Democrat to be speaker.
"You're dodging it," Matthews said after he made several attempts to get a direct answer from O'Connor.
Eventually the Democratic candidate confirmed he would support Pelosi if she's the one the "Democratic Party puts forward."
"I would support whoever the Democratic Party puts forward," O'Connor said.
The National Republican Congressional Committee said the interview was a confirmation of what was already known, that O'Connor supports Pelosi.
"This interview confirmed what we’ve been saying all along: a vote for Danny O’Connor is a vote for Nancy Pelosi to become speaker," NRCC spokesman Chris Martin said.
The Congressional Leadership Fund released a new ad highlighting O'Connor's flip-flop.