Nancy Pelosi Says She Will Run For Re-election In 2024

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most influential Democrats – and at 83, the longest-serving – said on Friday that she would seek another term as a representative for California in Congress.

Pelosi said in an article on X that the United States must “show the world that our flag is here to stay, with freedom and justice for ALL.”

“That is why I am running for reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote,” she continued on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Her announcement that she wants a new four-year term threatens to deepen the debate in the United States about the aging of the political class.

President Joe Biden, also a Democrat, is 80 years old, while his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, is 77 years old. Their respective ages – and how that might affect their ability to lead the country – is a central question in the upcoming struggle for 2024.

Top US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, who has made headlines recently after two incidents in which he appeared to be briefly unable to speak in front of reporters, is 81.

Three other senators are older than McConnell, including Republican Chuck Grassley, 89, and Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is 90.

Another two-dozen senators are 70 or older.

The first woman to become speaker of the House of Representatives, second-in-line to the US presidency, Pelosi stepped down from the post last November, saying she wanted to make way for a new generation.

She now sits as an elected representative from California, but retains considerable influence on Capitol Hill, where she has been since 1987.