Congressional Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and is the daughter of Baltimore Democratic Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She is the incumbent, having represented District 12 in Congress since 1987. She first moved to San Francisco in 1969 and started a Democratic Party club at her home. When she entered politics, it was originally behind the scenes as a fundraiser and recruiter of Democratic candidates. It wasn’t until she turned 47, after her youngest child had left for college, that she ran for office herself in 1987, raising $1 million in seven weeks to win a special election and her first term representing District 12.
In representing the needs and interests of the 12th Congressional District, Speaker Pelosi has been able to advance policy priorities that have pushed the country in a strongly progressive direction. Speaker Pelosi played a large role in resetting the agenda on LGBTQ+ rights and the AIDS crisis during a time when both were vilified in the national debate. Speaker Pelosi also played a major role in architecting the landmark assault weapons ban that passed in 1994 and was in effect until it expired in 2004.
Speaker Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. She is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House and is in her third term in this position.
Notable legislation passed during her speakership includes the Affordable Care Act -- which she is credited with saving as it appeared to be falling apart in 2009-10 -- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act. Speaker Pelosi will be remembered for her achievements in breaking down gender barriers on Capitol Hill and paving the way for women leaders to enter negotiations at every level in government.
As she manages her ideologically diverse Democratic caucus in the House, progressives have advanced many substantive, thoughtful critiques of Speaker Pelosi’s leadership. These include her slowness to embrace the impeachment of Donald Trump, her support for impeachment only on the narrowest of grounds, her lack of support for a Green New Deal (or any other proposal) to avoid climate armageddon, and her choice of leadership at the DCCC -- which has actively tried to protect incumbent Democrats from progressive challengers, no matter how abhorrent their records.
Speaker Pelosi is being challenged by Agatha Bacelar (D), Shahid Buttar (D), Tom Gallagher (D), John Dennis (R), and DeAnna Lorraine (R). Ideologically speaking, her Democratic challengers have stronger progressive positions, particularly Shahid Buttar (a self-identified democratic socialist) who has emerged at Pelosi’s most prominent challenger. While we are not recommending Buttar in this guide, we appreciate that he is pushing Speaker Pelosi to be bolder. Perhaps Buttar will succeed Pelosi in 2022, as there have been numerous reports that Speaker Pelosi plans to step down soon.
According to our analysis, despite progressive critiques with which we agree, Speaker Pelosi deserves your vote in 2020 as the strongest choice to maintain Democratic momentum and make real progressive change under a Democratic president in 2021.
Congressional Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and is the daughter of Baltimore Democratic Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She is the incumbent, having represented District 12 in Congress since 1987. She first moved to San Francisco in 1969 and started a Democratic Party club at her home. When she entered politics, it was originally behind the scenes as a fundraiser and recruiter of Democratic candidates. It wasn’t until she turned 47, after her youngest child had left for college, that she ran for office herself in 1987, raising $1 million in seven weeks to win a special election and her first term representing District 12.
In representing the needs and interests of the 12th Congressional District, Speaker Pelosi has been able to advance policy priorities that have pushed the country in a strongly progressive direction. Speaker Pelosi played a large role in resetting the agenda on LGBTQ+ rights and the AIDS crisis during a time when both were vilified in the national debate. Speaker Pelosi also played a major role in architecting the landmark assault weapons ban that passed in 1994 and was in effect until it expired in 2004.
Speaker Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. She is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House and is in her third term in this position.
Notable legislation passed during her speakership includes the Affordable Care Act -- which she is credited with saving as it appeared to be falling apart in 2009-10 -- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act. Speaker Pelosi will be remembered for her achievements in breaking down gender barriers on Capitol Hill and paving the way for women leaders to enter negotiations at every level in government.
As she manages her ideologically diverse Democratic caucus in the House, progressives have advanced many substantive, thoughtful critiques of Speaker Pelosi’s leadership. These include her slowness to embrace the impeachment of Donald Trump, her support for impeachment only on the narrowest of grounds, her lack of support for a Green New Deal (or any other proposal) to avoid climate armageddon, and her choice of leadership at the DCCC -- which has actively tried to protect incumbent Democrats from progressive challengers, no matter how abhorrent their records.
Speaker Pelosi is being challenged by Agatha Bacelar (D), Shahid Buttar (D), Tom Gallagher (D), John Dennis (R), and DeAnna Lorraine (R). Ideologically speaking, her Democratic challengers have stronger progressive positions, particularly Shahid Buttar (a self-identified democratic socialist) who has emerged at Pelosi’s most prominent challenger. While we are not recommending Buttar in this guide, we appreciate that he is pushing Speaker Pelosi to be bolder. Perhaps Buttar will succeed Pelosi in 2022, as there have been numerous reports that Speaker Pelosi plans to step down soon.
According to our analysis, despite progressive critiques with which we agree, Speaker Pelosi deserves your vote in 2020 as the strongest choice to maintain Democratic momentum and make real progressive change under a Democratic president in 2021.
Congressional Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and is the daughter of Baltimore Democratic Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. She is the incumbent, having represented District 12 in Congress since 1987. She first moved to San Francisco in 1969 and started a Democratic Party club at her home. When she entered politics, it was originally behind the scenes as a fundraiser and recruiter of Democratic candidates. It wasn’t until she turned 47, after her youngest child had left for college, that she ran for office herself in 1987, raising $1 million in seven weeks to win a special election and her first term representing District 12.
In representing the needs and interests of the 12th Congressional District, Speaker Pelosi has been able to advance policy priorities that have pushed the country in a strongly progressive direction. Speaker Pelosi played a large role in resetting the agenda on LGBTQ+ rights and the AIDS crisis during a time when both were vilified in the national debate. Speaker Pelosi also played a major role in architecting the landmark assault weapons ban that passed in 1994 and was in effect until it expired in 2004.
Speaker Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. She is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House and is in her third term in this position.
Notable legislation passed during her speakership includes the Affordable Care Act -- which she is credited with saving as it appeared to be falling apart in 2009-10 -- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act. Speaker Pelosi will be remembered for her achievements in breaking down gender barriers on Capitol Hill and paving the way for women leaders to enter negotiations at every level in government.
As she manages her ideologically diverse Democratic caucus in the House, progressives have advanced many substantive, thoughtful critiques of Speaker Pelosi’s leadership. These include her slowness to embrace the impeachment of Donald Trump, her support for impeachment only on the narrowest of grounds, her lack of support for a Green New Deal (or any other proposal) to avoid climate armageddon, and her choice of leadership at the DCCC -- which has actively tried to protect incumbent Democrats from progressive challengers, no matter how abhorrent their records.
Speaker Pelosi is being challenged by Agatha Bacelar (D), Shahid Buttar (D), Tom Gallagher (D), John Dennis (R), and DeAnna Lorraine (R). Ideologically speaking, her Democratic challengers have stronger progressive positions, particularly Shahid Buttar (a self-identified democratic socialist) who has emerged at Pelosi’s most prominent challenger. While we are not recommending Buttar in this guide, we appreciate that he is pushing Speaker Pelosi to be bolder. Perhaps Buttar will succeed Pelosi in 2022, as there have been numerous reports that Speaker Pelosi plans to step down soon.
According to our analysis, despite progressive critiques with which we agree, Speaker Pelosi deserves your vote in 2020 as the strongest choice to maintain Democratic momentum and make real progressive change under a Democratic president in 2021.