Story highlights "If you were talking about any sports team that was losing time and time again, changes would be made," she said

Democrats lost special election races in Georgia, Montana, South Carolina and Kansas

Washington (CNN) Democrats need to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House minority leader if they are going to win future elections, a Democratic lawmaker said Thursday.

"We need a winning strategy and I think the first step to getting to a winning strategy is a change in leadership," Rep. Kathleen Rice told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day" Thursday.

"If you were talking about a company that was posting losing numbers, if you were talking about any sports team that was losing time and time again, changes would be made, right? The CEO out. The coach would be out and there would be a new strategy put in place," the New York lawmaker added. "We need a vision, right? Where do we want to go as a party? And we need a message. How are we going to get there?"

Several Democratic lawmakers have said Pelosi's position as a prominent face of the Democratic Party will continue to make winning elections difficult. In special elections for House seats vacated by Republicans who wound up in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, Democrats went 0-for-4 losing races in Georgia, Montana, South Carolina and Kansas.

A successful Republican strategy in Tuesday's race for Georgia's 6th Congressional District included promoting a relentlessly anti-Pelosi message to drive out the conservative base.

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