OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that she will run for re-election this fall in California’s 12 Congressional District.
The 81-year-old lawmaker made her announcement in a video shared to her social media, where she was propped up in front of a fake San Francisco backdrop.
“Hello, it’s Nancy. Thank you for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you, our VIPs, our Volunteers in Politics, in our ongoing engagement for the people. Thank you for being a constant source of new, fresh ideas and political activism to help Democrats deliver and defend democracy. Thank you for giving me the privilege to represent our city and our San Francisco values in the Congress,” Pelosi said.
“Human rights, reproductive justice, LGBTQ equality, respect for immigrants, and care for each other. When people ask me what are the three most important issues facing Congress, I always say the same thing: Our children. Our children. Our children. Their health, their education, the housing and economic security of their families, a clean, safe environment in which they can thrive, and the world at peace and where they are all welcome and in which they can reach their fulfillment,” Pelosi said.
Even though Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, Pelosi said “democracy is at risk.”
“Our democracy is at risk because of assaults on the truth, the assault on the U.S. Capitol, and the state-by-state assault on voting rights. This election is crucial. Nothing less is at stake than our democracy. But as we say: We don’t agonize, we organize. And that is why I am running for reelection to Congress and respectfully seek your support. I’d be greatly honored by it and grateful for it. Thank you so much,” she said.
WATCH:
Interestingly enough, USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page noted an interesting point from Pelosi’s video.
“Pelosi faced an approaching deadline–filing for the CA primaries is from 2/14 to 3/11. Her announcement she’s running again keeps her from being a lame duck and helps protect her fundraising prowess. But note that she doesn’t promise to serve another full term,” Page wrote.
Page is suggesting that Pelosi announced she’s running for re-election so she could continue to raise money for herself and Democrats.
But Pelosi did not seem to say in her video that she will actually serve another term after she is presumably re-elected in November.
There’s a big difference between filing for re-election and serving another term in office.
.@SpeakerPelosi faced an approaching deadline–filing for the CA primaries is from 2/14 to 3/11. Her announcement she's running again keeps her from being a lame duck and helps protect her fundraising prowess. But note that she doesn't promise to serve another full term. https://t.co/F8qDvclFQX
— Susan Page (@SusanPage) January 25, 2022
Many other political observers had a lot to say about Pelosi’s announcement and her video.
Speaker Pelosi hasn’t allowed a single amendment to be offered from the floor in the last three years. Zero amendments. ZERO. There’s no democracy when the speaker blocks every other representative—the people we elect to represent us—from participating in the legislative process. https://t.co/Dn8uE9b1mz
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 26, 2022
Thank you. I knew there I had one more gift under the Christmas tree https://t.co/fOldtp1Wfn
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 25, 2022
The painted ladies background—rather than the feces, needles, and carjackings plaguing most of SF—is a nice touch. https://t.co/BqRDOZgMIt
— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) January 25, 2022
Going for her 19th term and a whopping 38 years in Congress. They’ll lose the majority, and thanks to abandoning custom, she’ll still get to hold her party’s highest Congressional position. Unreal. https://t.co/uAU8Jf83fm
— Ellen Carmichael (@ellencarmichael) January 26, 2022
Nancy Pelosi seeks reelection to extend her destructive tenure in Congress.
Let's end her time in Washington, D.C.
I'm John Dennis. I'm running against Nancy Pelosi.https://t.co/sFeMuIQXSx https://t.co/IYgEq6pwaL
— John Dennis (@RealJohnDennis) January 25, 2022
You are one of the most corrupt Democrats in the House who for decades now has used your office not to help the people or planet, but to enrich yourself and your corporate donors. Re-electing you would do nothing to defend democracy. It would only preserve this corrupt oligarchy. https://t.co/njaLxFD1hf
— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) January 25, 2022
It’s time for all the Homeless Americans in California to show up and vote in November. No one wants more Pelosi. Her speakership needs to end. Not all Democrats are like her. But if they continue to support her EVIL they can leave politics too. Let this be her last year in DC. https://t.co/BDt8RDHEhl
— American Maga Patriot TGM (@AMERICAN__TGM) January 25, 2022
How can anyone watch this video and say “Yup I’m voting for her” https://t.co/jqMt6ss294
— Stefano Forte for State Senate (@stef4senate) January 25, 2022
Nearly 30 House Democrats have announced that they will not seek re-election this cycle.
Three-quarters of senior Capitol Hill aides think Republicans are going to win back control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections.
Punchbowl News surveyed several senior Capitol Hill aides and reported that a whopping 73 percent think Republicans will take the speaker’s gavel from Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi next November.
A top House Democrat is warning that the Republican Party is in a prime position to take back the lower chamber in the 2022 midterm elections.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick, who serves as a congressman from New York, says Democrats would lose their House majority if the midterms were held today.
Tim Persico, executive director of the Maloney-led DCCC, shared data with incumbents showing that several House Democrats are at risk of losing their seats to Republican challengers.
And the once-in-a-decade redistricting process – pegged to the 2020 census – is expected to generally favor Republicans over Democrats.
