House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at a news conference on the “Women’s Health Protection Act” outside the US Capitol on September 24, 2021.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
- Pelosi announced on Tuesday that she’ll run for reelection to her California seat.
- The 81-year-old House speaker was first elected to Congress in 1987.
- Pelosi was expected to run for reelection, but there is wide speculation she’ll retire her post as speaker.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Tuesday announced that she would run for reelection to the House of Representatives, ending speculation that she might retire from the lower chamber as she is set to leave leadership at the end of the current Congress.
“While we have made progress much more needs to be done to improve people’s lives,” the 81-year-old lawmaker said in a video statement. “This election is crucial — nothing less is at stake than our democracy.”
She continued: “But we don’t agonize, we organize. I am running for re-election to Congress to deliver For The People and defend Democracy.
Pelosi was first elected to the House in a 1987 special election and rose through the ranks of leadership, becoming the Democratic House Minority Leader in 2003. She’s currently serving her 18th two-year term in the chamber.
After the 2006 midterm elections — which saw Democrats take back control of Congress after 12 years in the minority — she became the first female House speaker in US history.
