Washington, Dec 1

United States Democratic legislators re-elected Nancy Pelosi as House minority leader on Wednesday as she defeated Ohio Democratic Representative Tim Ryan by 71 votes, media reports said.

Pelosi, a 76-year-old progressive from San Francisco who has led her colleagues in the House since 2002, won 68 per cent of the votes in a secret ballot. She earned 134 votes to Ryan\'s 63.

In a tweet, Pelosi said she was \"honoured\" to be re-elected and urged the party to get to work, the Guardian reported.

\"Honoured to be elected by my colleagues to serve as Democratic Leader. Let\'s get to work,\" she tweeted.

Pelosi vowed on Wednesday to unify the Democrats in efforts to defend President Obama\'s legislative legacy from the incoming Trump administration, while proposing caucus reforms so as to empower younger Democratic lawmakers who have been frustrated by the lack of leadership opportunities.

\"My heart is broken that we didn\'t win the White House this time,\" she said. \"We know how to win elections, we\'ve done in in the past and will do it again.\"

Democrats re-elect Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader