Nancy Pelosi Reveals Whether She’ll Run For Re-Election

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the polarizing matriarch of U.S. House Democrats, apparently isn’t ready to throw in the towel.

Despite retiring from leadership in 2023, the San Francisco congresswoman is preparing for at least one more term on the heels of winning her latest. The SF Standard reported that Pelosi has filed papers to run in the 2026 midterms, a sign that she doesn’t want to see her caucus consigned to a neutered minority unable to block Republicans from theoretically passing anything they wish since winning control of the House, Senate, and White House. Of course, whether Pelosi makes good on her commitment and mobilizes another campaign remains to be seen.

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A spokesperson for the former House speaker downplayed the discovery of the form, called a Statement of Candidacy, saying it would have to be filed regardless of whether or not she runs. Any U.S. representative who raises more than $5,000 following Election Day must do so, they added. Nonetheless, it fueled speculation about Pelosi hanging on just long enough to reorient the Trump resistance back into a cohesive force. Pelosi herself said the Standard and other outlets are making too much about her latest move.

“I’m not here to talk about that,” she said in a recent interview. “I’m here to fight the fight so that we win in the next election. I must have thought I’ve had the last term over and over again, but as fate would have it, the mission called.” Pelosi’s last mission, at 84 years old, was forcing the 81-year-old President Joe Biden out of the presidential race and helping to install Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee. According to previous reports, she conspired with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), a top ally, to show Biden the dismal demographic changes that she said would doom his reelection bid no matter what he said or did. Working with former President Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the party effectively pushed out its own president, a diss that Biden and First Lady Jill Biden haven’t forgotten.

Pelosi won her election on November 5th with 81% of the vote and for more than a decade has benefited from a splintered field of Democrats seeking to unseat her in the party’s primary election. The outlet reported on local speculation that her daughter, Christine Pelosi, may fill her seat, as may state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who has created an exploratory committee for the seat. Cook Political Report most recently rated the district as D+37.