Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told a group of volunteers in San Francisco on Friday that she's not done trodding the halls of Congress just yet and will run for re-election to her U.S. House seat in 2024 as she seeks to continue her more than three-decade career in Congress.
In a post from her campaign team account on X, formerly Twitter, Pelosi made her next campaign official, saying that "now more than ever" there's a need to "advance San Francisco values." Never mind, apparently, that those "values" have seen crime and violence skyrocket are not in-demand among most Americans.
"Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL," Pelosi emphasized in her announcement. "That is why I am running for reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote."
Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. 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.…
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) September 8, 2023
Pelosi, who is now 83, first took office in June 1987 the week that Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin On" hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. For the 36 years since then, Pelosi has been in Congress, working her way up the ladder of Democrat leadership in the lower chamber.
She became the Democrat Whip in 2002, leader of her caucus in 2003, then alternated between serving as Democrat Leader and Speaker of the House from 2003 to 2023, resisting calls for power to be wrested from her hands.
After Democrats lost their majority in the 2022 midterms, Pelosi announced she would finally take a step back from leadership to be more of a back-bencher and mentor to another crop of Democrat leaders in the House. Despite Democrats' loss of the speakership, Pelosi won her House race with 84 percent of the vote.
At the time she announced she'd hand over the reins of leadership, her 2024 plans remained unknown and President Biden was reportedly still keeping the position of U.S. Ambassador to Italy open for her if she needed an excuse to step away from Congress entirely after losing the speaker's gavel.
Eventually, Biden nominated former Gov. Jack Markell (D-DE) for the post in May after Pelosi made it clear she's not ready to retire or give up what power she still retains in the House despite no longer being in leadership and Democrats being in the minority.