Pelosi’s Hometown Paper Backs Her, With an Eye on the Calendar

Political insiders and many San Franciscans in general widely expected this year to be Nancy Pelosi’s swan song.

The former speaker, who is 83 and has represented the city in Congress for 37 years, saw Republicans take hold of the House last year and has turned over her leadership of the House Democrats to Hakeem Jeffries.

And her high political profile in a liberal city that many conservatives love to hate seemed to be a factor in the brutal October 2022 hammer attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi, in their San Francisco home. A far-right believer in conspiracy theories, David DePape, was found guilty of attempted kidnapping and assault in the attack, and admitted during his trial that he had planned to take Nancy Pelosi hostage and “break her kneecaps.”

For many people, all that would be enough to prompt thoughts of retirement — but not Ms. Pelosi. She is running for another two-year term in November, with no major challenger in sight. Over the weekend, her re-election bid received the endorsement of her hometown paper, The San Francisco Chronicle.

No surprise there — the paper has long backed Ms. Pelosi’s campaigns for office and for leadership positions among House Democrats, and she occasionally sends notes to its journalists complimenting their work.

But this time, as the paper said, there was a catch.

The editorial board, which does not usually conduct endorsement interviews for candidates with no serious challengers, praised Ms. Pelosi’s “strength as a political leader” in its endorsement this time, and noted that she was “tough, charming and pragmatic” when she met with the board.