Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 83, will run for reelection in the US House next November, the California Democrat announced Friday.
First elected to congress in 1987, the Democratic leader made history becoming the first female speaker in 2007, and in 2019 she regained the speaker’s gavel.
Her announcement puts to rest any suggestion of retirement, though it comes amid concerns over the advanced age of numerous elected officials, including octogenarian Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; and President Biden, who is 80.
McConnell, 81, renewed concerns about his age and fitness for office after he froze in front of news cameras last month for the second time this year. Biden has not escaped scrutiny over his age, either. A recent Wall Street Journal poll found two-thirds of Democrats think he is too old to run for president again. Pelosi has come to the president’s defense, however, calling age “relative.”
Pelosi led the party through substantial legislative achievements, including passage of the Affordable Care Act, as well as turbulent times with two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.
“I think the president should embrace his age, his experience, the knowledge he brings to the job. Actually, the leader on the other side is not much younger. I don’t like to use his name, but you know who I mean. He’s not that much younger. So I don’t think age is a relative thing. It is and I think this president, our country is very well served by his leadership, again, his experience, his knowledge, and it counts for a lot,” she said.
Pelosi added that Biden is “a kid to me.”
Pelosi said, “Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. 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 reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote. -Nancy.”
By running for reelection, Pelosi is cementing her role as a towering figure in Democratic politics in Washington and on the national stage. Pelosi has been a trailblazer in politics through her career, but has also been a uniquely polarizing figure in American politics, making her a prominent target of Republican criticism.
Questions surrounded Pelosi over whether she would remain in Congress or run for reelection following a brutal attack, Paul, in October 2022 in their San Francisco home.
Walking down a hallway in the Capitol complex one day in late May, Pelosi stopped to complain to a newspaper reporter about a recent story airing concerns about Feinstein’s slow convalescence.
At the time, she blamed “the left” for the criticism of Feinstein, but added, “If she were a guy, you wouldn’t even hear about it. You wouldn’t even hear about it. You know it, and I know it, and I won’t name important senators who were chairs of committees who were in worse shape”