Pelosi’s retirement announcement could open floodgates for a wave of new candidates

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision not to seek reelection next year could open the floodgates on the race to replace her.

Pelosi, who has served in Congress since 1987, already had two primary challengers ahead of her Thursday announcement: Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic California state Sen. Scott Wiener.

Chakrabarti launched his bid to unseat Pelosi earlier this year as part of a wave of younger Democratic challengers who argued the party needed candidates with new ideas to reshape it in the wake of Republicans’ 2024 electoral wins.

Wiener, who has represented much of the city in the state Senate since 2016, previously said he wouldn’t challenge the former House Speaker. But he argued that it was necessary to get in against Chakrabarti, a self-funder who made his millions in the tech industry.

“I never wanted to run against Nancy Pelosi. I have enormous respect for her – I think she walks on water,” Wiener said in an interview. “But there are limits to how long you can wait. At some point, you need to get into the race and start making the case to the voters.”