After Retiring From Leadership, Nancy Pelosi Announces 2024 Reelection Campaign

The average age of a US federal lawmaker is 58 years old, and several dozen lawmakers are over the age of 70, with two of them being 89. While the US population as a whole is continuing to age, younger Americans have begun using the term “gerontocracy” to describe their government.

US Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has announced she will seek another term in office. The 19-term congresswoman retired from Democratic Party leadership last year, but has dismissed questions about leaving political life.

“Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery,” Pelosi said on social media on Friday. “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.”

Pelosi has represented constituents in the San Francisco Bay area in Congress since 1987 and spent much of that time in party leadership on Capitol Hill, including serving as Party Whip, leader of the Democratic caucus in the US House of Representatives, Minority Leader and two terms as House Speaker from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 until 2023. As Speaker, she was third in the line of presidential succession after the president and vice president.

However, after the Democrats lost control of the House in the November 2022 elections, instead of returning to her role as Minority Leader, the 82-year-old lawmaker decided to step aside, as per a 2019 agreement, and let a younger generation take the reins.

Pelosi was reelected to her House seat, though, and shut down any questions about whether she was about to retire from political office.

“Don’t bother me with a question like that,” Pelosi snapped at a reporter in December 2022 who asked her if she would finish her term. “Really, really, OK. I said what I’m gonna do. You know, those kinds of questions are such a waste of my time.”

However, the Italian-American politician has made clear that one of her daughters, Christine Pelosi, might look to replace her when she does retire. If she dies while in office, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will be tasked with appointing a replacement to serve the rest of her term.

At 83, Pelosi is far from the oldest lawmaker in Congress: nine lawmakers across both chambers are older, although several dozen are age 70 or above.

Her decision comes after a colleague in the Senate, US Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is two years younger than her, had a second freeze-up situation during a press conference. The Kentucky Republican has been cleared for service by the attending physician at Congress, although the pair of public incidents, along with some clueless moments by 89-year-old Rep. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have helped revive popular interest in the term “gerontocracy,” meaning “rule by elders.”