Heading for retirement, Pelosi still lends political heft to fellow Democrats

Daniela Altimari, CQ-Roll Call on Jun 1, 2026

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WASHINGTON — For the first time in four decades, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi won’t be on the ballot in November, but she’s lending her political clout and prodigious fundraising skills to more than a dozen Democrats who will.

Pelosi, who concludes her barrier-breaking tenure in the House early next year, has offered up a string of endorsements to incumbents and picked sides in a couple of fiercely contested Democratic primaries for open seats.

Those collecting the speaker emerita’s blessing include Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy who is seeking an open House seat in New York City; former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, running to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Steny H. Hoyer in Maryland; and most notably, Connie Chan, the San Francisco supervisor competing for the seat Pelosi has held since 1987.

Pelosi’s most public push has been in support of Chan, whom she called “the leader best prepared to carry forward the fight for San Francisco in the Congress of the United States.

“Connie understands San Francisco, our values, our diversity, our communities and our responsibility to lead with both compassion and strength,” Pelosi said in an endorsement video released last month.

Chan is one of three main Democrats running in Tuesday’s primary in the deep-blue 11th District. Recent polls suggest centrist state Sen. Scott Wiener is leading, with Chan battling for second place with former tech executive Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The top two finishers will earn a spot on the November ballot.

Pelosi initially said she wasn’t planning to endorse in the race to succeed her. Both Wiener and Chakrabarti launched their runs before she announced her retirement in November, a move that was unlikely to engender her support, though Wiener praised Pelosi’s legacy.

While Chan is a progressive, candidates in other races who have received Pelosi’s backing hail from the party’s political middle. They include Melissa Bean, a former House member who won a crowded primary for an open seat in Illinois; New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who is facing a stiff primary challenge on the left from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; and Maryland Rep. April McClain Delaney, whose bid for a second term is being contested by former Rep. David Trone.

Pelosi was not available to discuss her endorsements, but a political aide familiar with her thinking said her strategy is driven less by ideology and more by personal relationships. Throughout her long career, Pelosi, the first — and so far only — woman to serve as speaker of the House, has placed a premium on loyalty, skillfully exerting influence to pass legislation and help Democrats win elections.

Known as a shrewd tactician, Pelosi wields enormous power within Democratic politics. She famously helped push President Joe Biden, a man she had known for decades, into retirement following his disastrous debate with Donald Trump in June 2024.

Pelosi, herself the product of a political family, has known Schlossberg for most of his life and has a history of backing Kennedys in contested primaries. In 2020, she endorsed Rep. Joe Kennedy III in his unsuccessful quest to defeat Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey.

She developed a close relationship with Dunn, who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 assault. Hoyer is backing state Del. Adrian Boafo, his former campaign manager, for the seat.

Pelosi has also provided a fundraising boost to several Democrats running in House battlegrounds, including Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history.

She’s also backing two House Democrats seeking open Senate seats: Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, each of whom is locked in a primary against more progressive opponents.

And Pelosi is also supporting former Rep. Karen Bass in her campaign for reelection as Los Angeles mayor.

But Pelosi has so far rejected using her powerful perch to shape one key California race: As of the day before the California primary, she had not publicly endorsed a candidate in the Democrats’ crowded and contentious primary for governor.

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