November 6, 2025 08:22 PM IST
First published on: Nov 6, 2025 at 08:06 PM IST
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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. reacts as she listens to a question from a reporter during her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik File)
Democratic Party leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she will not run for re-election to Congress in 2026. Pelosi, who’s represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, is also the first woman to serve as the powerful Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
The 85-year-old congresswoman, who was first elected to the House in 1987, thanked voters in San Francisco in a video message.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., gestures while speaking about health care during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon File)
“I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know,” Pelosi said. “I will not be seeking reelection to Congress. With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.”
Pelosi made the announcement two days after voters in California on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved “Proposition 50,” a state redistricting effort aimed at flipping five House seats to Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.
First woman US House Speaker
In 2007, Pelosi made history when she became the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She served as the House Speaker from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.
With her exit from the national stage at the end of 2026, when her 20th term expires, the House and Democrats nationwide will be losing one of its highest-profile liberals at a time of party upheaval. But her move was not expected to scramble the party’s leadership races following the November 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats hope to recapture control of the 435-member House from Republicans.
Left Democratic Party leadership in 2026
Three years ago, Pelosi announced she was retiring from Democratic leadership, which included two four-year stints as speaker, from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023.
Relinquishing a job that is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president, opened the way for a younger generation of Democrats to take control after years of trying to climb the ladder to power, she sat atop. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York has assumed Pelosi’s former role as House Democratic leader, while Senator Chuck Schumer, 74, continues as the party leader in that chamber.
defender of human rights, champion of affordable health care
During her tenure, Pelosi gained a reputation as a defender of human rights and an early advocate of gay rights at a time when AIDS swept through the world and especially her hometown of San Francisco in the 1980s and beyond. It was her work in helping then-President Barack Obama win enactment of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” that she sees as her greatest accomplishment.
Who will succeed Pelosi?
She is likely to be succeeded by Scott Wiener, the Democratic state senator for San Francisco, or Saikat Chakrabarti, an Indian-origin politician who has previously worked for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and had announced his intent to challenge Pelosi in a primary before her retirement announcement.
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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. reacts as she listens to a question from a reporter during her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik File) 
