With lingering hard feelings over their party's failure in the November elections, Democrats in the U.S. House decided not to make a change in direction, voting to keep Rep. Nancy Pelosi as their leader, easily turning aside a challenge from Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio.
The vote was not close, as Pelosi won more than two-thirds of fellow Democrats, with a final margin of 134 to 63.
"Clearly this didn't turn out the way we wanted to," Ryan told reporters after the vote, as the Ohio Democrat said he still feels like the race energized fellow Democrats.
"We got the message out that we wanted to get out," as Ryan again argued that Democrats need to have an economic message that "resonates in every corner of this country."
While Ryan professed his support for Pelosi, there were some Democrats who were not pleased with the outcome.
"It is obvious that the current strategy doesn't work," said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
"We're a family, and sometimes a family has to have a tough conversation," Ryan said.
"At the end of the day, we've got to figure out how to win," Ryan said.
While Ryan did not win, he still managed a chunk of votes against Pelosi, as a number of younger Democrats publicly called for something different to respond to the election of Donald Trump as President-Elect.
As for Pelosi, she stayed above the fray after the vote, congratulating Ryan, and expressing confidence that Democrats could find their way forward.
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