U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in October. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Nancy Pelosi, the leader of House Democrats since 2003, fought off a challenger to remain the minority leader. The California Congresswoman beat Tim Ryan (D-OH) with a vote of 134 to 63.

“Today has a special excitement for me because I think we’re at a time that is well beyond politics,” Pelosi told reporters after her re-election. “It’s about the character of America and how we go forward in our caucus to put forth our values, which are what unite us as a caucus, to differentiate between us and the administration that will come into Washington in January.”

While Pelosi remains a major fundraiser for other House Democrats, the reckoning on Election Day brought with it a sense for some Dems that they needed to switch things up. While House Democrats increased their numbers by four, the party did not retake the Senate or hold onto the White House.

Pelosi got support from two-thirds of the Democratic caucus, but the 63 people who voted for Ryan represent the biggest opposition to Pelosi since she won a deputy leadership position 15 years ago, according to the Washington Post.

Ryan, who represents a working class district in Youngstown, said in a statement after his loss that “as we learn more about the outcome of our elections that we’re ignoring crucial voices that deserve to be heard … Hopelessness is a product of economic and social adversity. That is why Democrats must always be the party of aspiration and inclusion.”

He sought to provide a non-coastal face for Democratic leadership—in addition to Pelosi, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer represents New York—in what the New York Times described as “a proxy battle for the future of the party.”

Other members of the California Congressional delegation—Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, and Ro Khanna—argued that Democrats need Pelosi now more than ever in an editorial in the Mercury News.

Of course we take seriously the questions raised by the outcome of the election. However, sniping about Nancy Pelosi’s age and undermining her leadership is not a strategy to protect hard-working families from Republicans’ destructive agenda or win back the House. Democrats need our most formidable strategist, our toughest negotiator, and our most battle-tested champion facing down President Trump and Speaker Ryan.

In addition to Pelosi, Democrats re-elected Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer as whip and South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn as assistant Democratic leader, both of whom were unchallenged, filling out the top three spots with people who’ve been in leadership roles for at least a decade. All three are in their seventies.

One change, however, is a series of new or changed roles in leadership designed for junior legislators, including adding a freshman member of Congress to her leadership team.

“While I still believe our Caucus can do more to decentralize the power of leadership, these are steps in the right direction,” Ryan said.