Pelosi pushes voting as aiding husband’s recovery

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her first public appearance since the brutal attack on her husband, rallied grassroots activists Friday, saying the midterm elections for control of Congress are a fight for democracy and “very winnable.”

“People say to me, ‘What can I do to make you feel better?’ I say: ‘Vote!’ ” Pelosi told those on the call.

“I believe that this race is very winnable,” Pelosi said.

Her voice cracked at times as she said of her husband’s recovery, “It’s going to be a long haul.”

Pelosi thanked those on a video call for the outpouring of support for Paul Pelosi, 82, who suffered a fractured skull and other injuries after an intruder broke into their San Francisco home and bludgeoned him with a hammer in what authorities say was an intentional and political attack.

Pelosi spoke in the early morning from California, where her husband was released from the hospital late Thursday.

“What we are doing is not only to win an election, but this is to strengthen our democracy,” Pelosi said. “There is no question that our democracy is on the ballot.”

Nancy Pelosi