Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to announce her retirement from Congress after Tuesday’s special election in California, according to multiple Democratic sources.
The 85-year-old congresswoman has represented her San Francisco district for nearly four decades and has amassed a huge personal fortune during her time in office.
Pelosi is expected to announce she’s dropping out of her 2026 reelection campaign at a press conference next week, which has reportedly sent Democratic Party leaders scrambling.
“I think she’s out,” one House Democrat from California admitted. “She’s going to go out with Prop 50 overwhelmingly passing, and what a crowning achievement for her to do that.”
“I think she’s preparing to exit the stage,” another insider said. “We will not fully appreciate the time we have spent with her until she’s gone.”
Pelosi’s spokesperson Ian Krager refused to address her imminent retirement plans when asked by Fox News, and said Pelosi is focused on Tuesday’s election.
“Speaker Pelosi is fully focused on her mission to win the Yes on 50 special election in California on Tuesday,” Krager said. “She urges all Californians to join in that mission on the path to taking back the House for the Democrats.”
Proposition 50 would authorize California’s Democrat-controlled legislature to bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission and draw new congressional maps for the 2026 midterm elections that will heavily favor Democrats.
Pelosi told The San Francisco Examiner she will not make an announcement on her political future until after Tuesday’s election.
“That is everything to us,” Pelosi said.
Two radical Democrats have already announced campaigns to challenge for Pelosi’s seat. California State Senator Scott Wiener entered the race in late October, and Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, announced his candidacy earlier this year.
“It’s official: I’m running for Congress to represent San Francisco! I’ll fight Trump’s takeover, for our values, & for real progress. I’ve delivered on housing, healthcare, clean energy, and civil rights – and I’ll do it again,” Wiener wrote on social media. “Let’s build the future our city & country deserve.”
Chakrabarti, a wealthy tech executive worth more than $150 million, has challenged what he calls the Democratic establishment’s approach.
Pelosi has raised more than $2 million this election cycle and holds a $1.5 million war chest, according to campaign records.
Pelosi stepped down from Democratic leadership in 2022 to make way for a “new generation to lead the Democratic caucus.” But she has remained firmly entrenched in party operations and reportedly helped forced former President Joe Biden out of the 2024 reelection campaign.
Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi has also been involved in the Democratic Party for decades but has not officially declared a candidacy for her mother’s seat.
The filing deadline for California congressional candidates is March 6, 2026. The official filing period begins February 9, 2026.