(CN) — Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, a mainstay in California’s delegation to the House of Representatives and a key political figure in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced she will not seek reelection in 2022.
"It has been a remarkable journey that has surpassed my wildest dreams," Speier said in a two-minute video statement released Tuesday.
The 71-year-old congresswoman has served as a representative for 12 years, during which she has proved a key ally of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, another Bay Area congresswoman who's seen speculation about retirement in recent weeks.
"It's time for me to come home — time for me to be more than a weekend wife, mother and friend," Speier said. "It's been an extraordinary privilege and honor to represent the people of San Mateo County and San Francisco at almost every level of government for nearly four decades."
The retirement could be one of several for Democrats in the House, who may see the writing on the wall in terms of an anticipated red wave in the upcoming midterm elections. President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have tanked and a ABC News/Washington Post poll published Sunday showed Republicans are in the best position to retake Congress in four decades.
Just over half (51%) of respondents said they would vote for a Republican in their congressional district as opposed to 40% saying they would vote for a Democrat. While the poll was taken before Biden signed a major bipartisan infrastructure bill into law Monday and Democrats have time to reverse their fortunes, the current political environment does not bode well for the party’s effort to retain its slim majority in the house.
Speier’s seat is safely in blue territory, but veteran members of Congress frequently bail where their party is the minority. U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, who represents the Los Angeles area, has also retired and is running to be mayor of Los Angeles.
Tuesday's announcement will likely set off a mad scramble between Bay Area politicians to vie for Speier's seat and there is no shortage of viable candidates.
Speier has been active in California politics dating back to the 1970s. As a congressional aide, she traveled to Guyana to visit the Jonestown cult community in 1978. The delegation was ambushed on an airstrip as they attempted to leave Guyana and Leo Ryan, a Democratic representative was shot and killed.
“Forty-three years ago this week, I was lying on an airstrip in the jungles of Guyana with five bullet holes in my body,” Speier said Tuesday. “I vowed that if I survived, I would dedicate my life to public service. I lived, and I survived.”
Speier also served in the California Legislature for many years before making the leap to Congress in 2009.
She hinted she will stay involved in Bay Area politics.
“I intend to contribute to you, the communities I love, on the peninsula and in San Francisco and the country,” she said.
California will likely lose one congressional seat and redistricting remains underway, which could also affect the jockeying for House seats in the upcoming election.
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