Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday she will run for another term, ending months of speculation about whether the 81-year-old would retire.
“Our democracy is at risk,” the California Democrat said in a video message, citing last January’s Capitol insurrection and Republican attempts to limit access to voting. “We don’t agonize, we organize. And that is why I am running for reelection to Congress.”
Pelosi, one of the most powerful lawmakers in the country and a key ally of President Joe Biden, did not say whether she would seek another term as House speaker. She said in 2018 that her current term would mark her final time as speaker, but she has not addressed the issue lately. Her decision will be closely watched as Republicans threaten to take back control of the House in the November midterm elections.
Pelosi thanked her constituents for allowing her to represent “San Francisco values” on the national stage, and said her more than three decades in the U.S. House of Representatives has been dedicated to fighting for young people.
“When you’re in the arena, you have to be able to take a punch or throw a punch for the children,” the Baltimore native said.
Rep. Jackie Speier’s announcement last year that she would not seek another term in Washington, D.C., set off speculation that other San Francisco Bay Area lawmakers — several of them in their 70s and 80s — might also call it quits in districts that are considered safe for Democrats to retain.
But across the region, lawmakers from Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee to Palo Alto Rep. Anna Eshoo to San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren have all said they plan to run again. One remaining question mark? Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The 88-year-old lawmaker has not said whether she plans to seek another term in 2024.
It is not clear yet whether Pelosi, who has traditionally won by wide margins, will face a serious challenger, although some Democrats to the left of the speaker have for years called on her to step aside and allow someone else to represent San Francisco.
