Nancy Pelosi, 83, Announces She's Running for Reelection Less Than a Year After Husband's Brutal Hammer Attack at San Francisco Home
Sept. 8 2023, Published 4:45 p.m. ET
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 83, announced she's running for reelection, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The reveal comes months after she said she was passing the torch to the next generation of Democrats and would not seek reelection for House Speaker. Her announcement followed the violent attack on her husband Paul, who was bludgeoned by a hammer at their San Francisco home.
While gathered at a breakfast event with volunteers in San Francisco, the 83-year-old announced that she would be running for office in 2024. Pelosi later took to X, formerly Twitter, to share the news on social media.
In the post, Pelosi said that "now more than ever" the city of San Francisco needed leadership that would progress the city's "values" and "further our recovery."
"Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery," Pelosi's post began. "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."
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After Pelosi declined to run for reelection as House Speaker, a position she held for 19 years, in the wake of her husband's brutal assault, political pundits questioned whether or not she would retire from office altogether and enjoy her sunset years away from Washington D.C.
Moreover, Pelosi's announcement came amid backlash towards elderly lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Constituents and colleagues have called on Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to resign in the wake of recent health episodes.
With growing animosity towards veteran lawmakers, Pelosi's reelection also came at a time when Democrats desperately look to take back control of the House in 2024. Pelosi's party lost nine crucial seats to Republicans during the 2022 midterms.
Pelosi is no stranger to criticism or calls to leave office for that matter. She was the first woman elected to House Speaker in 2007 and served until 2011 when Republicans regained control of the House. Pelosi repeated this pattern when she was reelected in 2019.
With Paul safely out of the hospital and back home, where he completed community service for his non-related DUI accident, Pelosi confirmed she had no intention of stepping away from power or the political spotlight with Friday's announcement.
Though she has been celebrated for breaking barriers as a woman in politics, a tumultuous past year and rising crime in San Francisco presented an entirely new set of hurdles that she would need to overcome to secure her decades-long legacy as a representative for California.