Nancy Pelosi, the powerful California Democrat and former U.S. House Speaker, says she intends to seek another congressional term next year.
Pelosi, 83, announced her re-election plans on Friday, before volunteers and labour allies in the San Francisco-area district she has represented for more than 35 years.
“Now more than ever, our city needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery,” Pelosi said in a post on social media.
‘”Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL. That is why I am running for re-election — and respectfully ask for your vote.”
Democrats’ eye recapture of chamber
Republicans now control the House — but just narrowly, with a 222-212 majority and one vacancy. Democrats believe they have a chance to regain power as U.S. President Joe Biden runs for a second term.
Pelosi’s announcement quells any talk of retirement for the long-serving leader, who, with the honorific title of speaker emeritus, remains an influential leader, pivotal party figure and strong fundraiser for Democrats.
It also unfolds as Washington is grappling with the sunset of a political era as an older generation of leaders — including Biden, 80 — face questions about their age. This week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, said he would finish his term as leader and senator despite concerns about recent health episodes.
But Pelosi has long charted her own course — from her arrival in Congress as one of few women elected to the House of Representatives to her tenure as one of the most powerful women in U.S. politics.
In her remarks, Pelosi said others had asked her to say longer, and she said she is also working to ensure a second term for Biden at the White House.
“We have a challenge in our country. Our Democracy is at stake,” she said, according to excerpts released of her remarks.
4th decade in Congress
If successful in her 2024 re-election bid, it would mark the 20th consecutive win for Pelosi — a tally that includes the special election that brought her to Congress in 1987 and the 18 successful re-election efforts that followed.
Pelosi made history by becoming the first female Speaker in 2007, and in 2019, she regained the Speaker’s gavel.
She led the Democratic Party through substantial legislative achievements, including passage of the Affordable Care Act, as well as turbulent times, with two impeachments of former U.S. president Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Her announcement comes as House Republicans are preparing to launch their own impeachment inquiry into Biden over the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden.
While Pelosi has stepped away from the day-to-day political limelight after a younger generation of Democrats led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took charge in 2023, she remains a political force keeping a robust schedule of public and private events.
Influential figure
Pelosi is among the party’s most prolific fundraisers for the House and key political strategists. She has said she doesn’t intend to hover over the new Democratic House leadership team, but she and Jeffries are often seen huddling quietly on the House floor.
It’s rare, but not unprecedented, for former party leaders to continue in Congress as members.
Back in California, Pelosi’s decision to seek another term is sure to disappoint other Democrats who have wanted a run for the congressional seat.
But Pelosi still has priorities she is trying to secure for her home state and especially San Francisco as the city works to recover from the coronavirus pandemic-era closures that have also dimmed other metro downtowns.
Pelosi said certain stretches of the city’s downtown, such as the Tenderloin District, have been inflicted with crime, violence and drugs and said she would fight for the resources to address them, but also pushed back on broad portrayals of San Francisco as unsafe and crime-ridden.
“Our city has been through a lot, will come through this very well, but it’s confined to a certain part of town, and I wish people would recognize that because our city is beautiful and clean and we would love for them to visit,” she told Nicole Wallace on MSNBC.
Pelosi has long been portrayed as a political villain by Republican critics, who view her as a far-left liberal and raise vast sums of their own using her image and actions.
Last year, her husband, Paul Pelosi, was seriously injured when an attacker broke into the family’s San Francisco home, seeking the Democratic leader at a highly divisive time in American politics. A trial is expected.
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