OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:23 AM – Monday, November 3, 2025
California Democrat Representative Nancy Pelosi will reportedly not seek reelection in 2026, according to sources who reached out to the mainstream press.
Democrat Party sources who spoke to NBC News stated that Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) retirement plans are expected to be announced after Tuesday’s elections.
At 85, Pelosi hasn’t announced whether she will seek re-election in 2026, leaving the door open to speculation about her future. State Senator Scott Wiener (D-Calif.) and former tech executive and political strategist Saikat Chakrabarti have each launched campaigns for Pelosi’s San Francisco congressional seat.
In a previous interview with the San Francisco Examiner, Pelosi said she would wait until after Tuesday’s elections to decide whether to seek reelection.
“I think she’s preparing to exit the stage,” a House Democrat leadership aide said of Pelosi. “We will not fully appreciate the time we have spent with her” until she’s gone.
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Democrats are still somewhat split on whether the former Speaker of the House will retire, however.
“My sense is she runs again for many reasons. She should hang it up, but I think she thinks the caucus needs her,” said a former Democratic leadership aide. “I also think she wants to be part of history if Leader Jeffries rises to become the first Black speaker of the House after the midterm election. She wants to be seen as part of that special moment.”
Pelosi’s spokesperson, Ian Krager, did not confirm her plans but said that she remains “fully focused” on passing Proposition 50.
“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 Democrats.”
“Here’s the thing: We must win the House. If you talk about ‘no kings,’ we must win the House to put a stop to this. We won’t be able to get many things done, but we’ll be able to stop a lot of the poison that he’s putting there, and the best antidote to poison is to win the election,” said Pelosi.
She added, ““There’s a lot riding on this because this is the path to our winning the House. We will win the House regardless, but winning it big, and we want to win November 4th big.”
On Tuesday, California holds a rare single-issue special election where voters will decide Prop 50—the “Election Rigging Response Act.” A YES vote ratifies one specific congressional map (AB 604) already passed by the Democrat supermajority, instantly flipping five GOP-held seats (CA-01, CA-03, CA-22, CA-41, CA-48) into Democrat territory and pushing the state’s U.S. House delegation from 43D–9R to as high as 48D–4R for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 cycles only. However, the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, created by voters in 2008 and 2010, stays fully intact for state-legislative districts and automatically redraws Congress again in 2031.
Ashley Etienne, former communications director to both Pelosi and former Vice President Kamala Harris, stated that she had not discussed the former Speaker’s plans with her, but uplifted her for previously “leading the charge” against former GOP President George W. Bush and President Donald Trump.
“Pelosi’s loss is bigger than even to the Democratic Party; it’s a loss to the institution. She’s an object lesson. No matter which side of the political aisle you’re on, if you’re smart, you’re taking copious notes,” said Etienne.
Pelosi began in San Francisco, California, as a Democratic National Committee member in 1976, which she held until 1996. In 1983, she was selected to lead California’s Democrat Party. She also served as the Host Committee chairwoman of the San Francisco Democratic National Convention in 1984 and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee finance chair from 1985 to 1986.
Pelosi was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1987. She was a top fundraiser for her party, and during the 2000 and 2002 election cycles, Pelosi contributed the most money to other candidates among members of Congress.
From 2003 to 2023, she alternated serving as House minority leader, House speaker, minority leader, and again as speaker. She was named “Speaker Emerita” by the House Democratic Caucus in 2022.
Pelosi undoubtedly has the means to retire. She was estimated by OpenSecrets to have been the 13th-wealthiest member of Congress with a $58 million net worth. In addition, the group most recently estimated her net worth to be $114.7 million in 2018.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in July that Pelosi’s stock portfolio “grew 70%” in 2024, giving her an approximate net worth of $413 million. Due to her purportedly high wealth increases, Republicans in the Senate, led by Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), have pushed for the PELOSI Act to ban insider trading within Congress.
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