Democratic Pelosi Defectors

Keep in mind that while it’s not terribly common for 19 members of a minority party to vote against their chosen leader in the Speaker election, Nancy Pelosi isn’t your typical minority leaders. She’s taking a step down from the Speakership. That doesn’t usually happen. Typically when Speakers lose the majority they resign or recede out of leadership. The fact that she decided to hang tough, despite her unpopularity, and the tough political climate, explains just about everything you saw today.