Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi retired from party leadership earlier this year.

However, Pelosi remained in power in Congress… and she intends to seek another term despite being 83 years old.

Pelosi said Friday that she will seek reelection to Congress in 2024. The congresswoman made the announcement before volunteers and union allies in her district, anchored in San Francisco.

“Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery,” Pelosi said in a tweet. “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.”

If Pelosi wins the next election — as she’s expected to do — it would be her 19th term as a representative.

Republicans now control the House with 222 seats, compared to the Democrats’ caucus of 212 (One seat is vacant currently.)

Given the GOP’s narrow majority, the Democrats are hoping to regain power next year, perhaps on the coattails of President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.

Pelosi’s announcement quells any talk of retirement for the elderly leader, who, with the honorific title of speaker emerita, remains an effective fundraiser for Democrats.

Meanwhile, Washington is grappling with the sunset of a political era. An older generation of leaders, including Biden, is facing questions about their age. This past week, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, 81, said he would finish his term as leader and senator despite concerns about his recent health episodes.

Unlike Biden, Pelosi hasn’t publicly asked to speak with deceased colleagues.

However, she’s had her fair share of mishaps described as “senior moments.” In 2021, she forgot the name of former President Donald Trump.

“When what’s-his-name was president and the R-Republicans were in power,” she said on CNN at the time.

Pelosi has served in the House since winning a special election in 1987. She became House speaker in 2007, and she led the House Democrats in rubber-stamping some national-historic legislation, most notably the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

She remained the House’s top-ranking Democrat even after losing the speakership in 2011, and after 2019, she eventually won two more terms as House speaker.

Earlier this year, Pelosi retired from party leadership but remained in Congress, as New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries took her place.

Still, Pelosi remains a political force into her 80s. She has said she does not intend to hover over the new Democratic House leadership team, but she and Jeffries are often seen huddling quietly on the House floor.

According to a person familiar with Pelosi’s thinking about her 2024 decision, Pelosi believes democracy hangs in the balance in the upcoming election as she works to reelect Biden and make Jeffries the next House speaker.

However, Pelosi claims to be running for San Francisco, rather than Washington.

San Francisco faces a delicate moment, Pelosi believes, and needs more federal resources, said the person familiar with her thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

One of the San Francisco’s long-serving leaders, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has announced she would not seek another term.

 

Flashback! Nancy Pelosi has a “senior moment” before CNN star rescues her

 

The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.