WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who made history as the nation’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives and held the top job twice, said in a video message Thursday that she will not seek re-election in 2026 in a final love letter to San Francisco.
“I will not seek re-election to Congress. I look forward to my final years as a grateful and proud representative,” Pelosi, 85, said in a video message to San Francisco voters, interwoven with sweeping images of the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and other landmarks, as well as photos from her storied political career.
A strong California Democrat, she led the party in the House of Representatives for two decades from 2002 to 2022, serving as a key ally for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and organizing opposition to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
NBC News reported this week that Democrats in California and on Capitol Hill are preparing to announce her retirement.
Although she stepped down as party leader three years ago, she continued to serve in the House as an at-large member, and her Democratic colleagues gave her the title of “speaker emeritus.”
Pelosi had said she would decide on her political future following the results of California’s Proposition 50, a new congressional map drawn by the state Democratic Party to counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states. If passed in Tuesday’s election, Pelosi decided it was time to pass the torch.
Her decision will set up a fierce battle for the liberal, deep-blue seat in San Francisco at a time when Democrats across the country are coming to terms with a new generation of leaders.
“As we move forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” Pelosi said in a video announcement. “We have made history and made progress. We have always led the way and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
Pelosi, former chair of the California Democratic Party, was first elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 1987, replacing the late Representative Sarah Burton. Since then, Pelosi has won every bid for re-election by wide margins, becoming one of the party’s most prolific fundraisers and a polarizing figure.
Even before her announcement, at least two Democrats had already announced their potential to replace her. State Sen. Scott Weiner, 55, and wealthy former tech executive Saikat Chakrabarti, 39, are co-founders of Justice Democrats, a progressive outside group that helped propel New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to political stardom.
Pelosi’s decision is sure to anger others, given that San Francisco hasn’t held a competitive congressional election in nearly 40 years.
Pelosi was born in Baltimore in 1940 into a closely related political family. Her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., was a Democratic congressman, and both Ms. Pelosi and her brother later served as mayor of Baltimore. Her father lived until Pelosi, then 47 and the mother of five adult children, was elected to the House of Representatives in June 1987. He died just two months later.
Pelosi, who learned the family business from her father, quickly rose through the ranks on Capitol Hill. She excelled on the House Appropriations and Intelligence Committees, gaining experience in federal funding and national security issues that would lead her to leadership roles.
Her big break came in 2001, when House Minority Leader David Bonior announced he would step down from the No. 2 spot and run for governor of Michigan. In the fierce race to replace Pelosi, she defeated Representative Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). – The two interned together at the Capitol in 1963 – with a 118-95 vote in secret, making her the highest-ranking woman in Congress in history.
Exactly one year later, another opportunity presented itself. When Democrats failed to win a majority in the 2002 midterm elections, Minority Leader Dick Gephart (D-Missouri) announced he would resign and focus on the presidential campaign. Pelosi defeated then-Rep. Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr. voted for minority leader in a landslide 177-29 victory, making him the top House Democrat.
After Democrats regained control of the chamber in the 2006 midterm elections, Ms. Pelosi was elected the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, breaking one of the highest glass ceilings in American political history.
