House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., argued Thursday that Democrats are in a "much better place" to win the House back in 2018 than they were in 2005, a year before she became House Speaker.

"We have a very exciting time ahead of us," Pelosi said. "We are in a much better place now than we were in '05 in terms of our attempt to win the Congress. Elections are about a couple of things, they're about who wins, and ... do the American people win in terms of the debate?"

"I feel very optimistic about it," Pelosi said.

Pelosi's comments come days after Democratic lawmakers launched their "Better Deal" agenda and called for an economic boost for American workers. She likened it to the message Democrats launched in early 2005.

"When we won the House in '05 and '06, we started right after 2004 election and knew we had to have a positive message as we went forward, and it took time to develop it," Pelosi said, referring to their "Six for '06," message.

In 2006, Democrats gained 31 seats to take over the majority, buoyed by the unpopularity of former President George W. Bush. At the moment, Democrats need to pick up 24 seats next November to retake the House, which they have not held since the 2010 wave election.