Rep. Nancy Pelosi to run for re-election to House seat

Ginger Gibson and Rebecca Kaplan and Ali Vitali
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON — Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, will seek re-election to her San Francisco-based House seat, she announced on Friday.

"Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery," she wrote Friday on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "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."

Pelosi, 83, who was first elected to Congress in 1987, has twice served as speaker, but after control of the chamber was taken by Republicans last year, she stepped aside from her leadership role.

Nancy Pelosi at her campaign headquarters in San Francisco on April 7, 1987. (Paul Sakuma / AP file)
Nancy Pelosi at her campaign headquarters in San Francisco on April 7, 1987. (Paul Sakuma / AP file)

Her decision to relinquish the top Democratic job fueled speculation that she would ultimately opt to retire from Congress. But she told a group of volunteers at a breakfast on Friday that she will seek another term, a source familiar with her plans told NBC News.

In October, her husband Paul Pelosi was attacked in his home by a man with a hammer who said was looking for the former speaker and wanted to kill her. Paul Pelosi was struck in the head, a harrowing attack that happened as police arrived at the home and was captured on a body camera. She said in November that the attack would affect her decision on whether to retire or not.

As speaker, Pelosi developed a reputation as an expert at building coalitions to back difficult votes and wrangled passage of historic legislation, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008 and the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Surrounded by staff, security and journalists, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks out of the House Chamber after announcing she would not be the Democratic leader in the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 17, 2022. (Frank Thorp V / NBC News)
Surrounded by staff, security and journalists, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks out of the House Chamber after announcing she would not be the Democratic leader in the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 17, 2022. (Frank Thorp V / NBC News)

She served as the speaker from 2007, after Democrats took control of the chamber at the end of the George W. Bush administration, and until 2011. She returned to the top position in the House again in 2019, where she remained until January of this year.

After Democrats lost control of the House in 2022, Pelosi announced that she would not seek another term as the Democratic leader but remained in Congress.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com