• Nancy Pelosi will retire after nearly four decades in Congress • Her decision ends one of the most influential careers in Democratic politics • The race to replace her in San Francisco is already drawing top contenders

Nancy Pelosi has announced she will not run for office again, choosing not to contest California’s District 11 House seat after 38 years in Congress. Pelosi’s decision brings the curtain down on one of the most storied political careers in U.S. history and will leave a huge vacuum in San Francisco’s Democratic politics (the 11th Congressional District encompasses most of the city of San Francisco).

The race to succeed her had already begun and may even have influenced her decision to step down. At age 85 she would have faced energetic, and younger, contenders who hav

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