The Hill News

Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared one last time before the polls closed to thank supporters and urge voters on the West Coast to cast their ballots in the final hours of the midterm elections.

Pelosi vowed Congress would “not go back to the failed policies of the past” as she stopped by the Democratic election watch party with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The Speaker pointedly introduced Hoyer as the majority leader, in a dig at pundits who have already written the political obituary for Democratic control of the House.

Speaking shortly before 8 p.m. ET, Pelosi received an extended ovation from a small ballroom crowd at a party that, except for the speeches, was closed to the press.

“We’re going to be listening. We’re going to be listening very closely,” Hoyer told the crowd, saying he hoped voters would send a message to c! ontinue with the policies President Obama and congressional Democrats have put in place. At that early hour, the message from the electorate was not yet clear.