All three octogenarian House Democrats, who are 244 in total, announce they are running for re-election in 2022 despite the growing prospect of a Republican bloodbath.
- The trio of leading House Democrats – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Member Jim Clyburn – are running again.
- Clyburn, 81, announced on Monday that he would run, while Pelosi, 81, and Hoyer, 82, had previously announced they would run in 2022.
- The total age of octogenarians is 244 years old, and not one of them has dared to leave leadership positions.
A trio of leading House Democrats – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Member Jim Clyburn – are running for re-election.
Clyburn, 81, announced on Monday that he would run for a 15th term, while Pelosi, 81, and Hoyer, 82, had previously announced elections in 2022.
The combined age of octogenarians is 244, and not one of them has committed to stepping down from leadership positions, despite the growing prospect that Republicans may return them to the minority.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, aged 81, announced earlier this year that she would run for re-election. However, in 2018, she promised to serve four more years as speaker.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 82, and House Majority Leader Jim Clyburn, 81, also announced they would run again, with Clyburn making the announcement on Monday.
In 2018, Pelosi pledged to last four more years as a public speaker in order to win over a number of detractors.
She previously served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.
The Real Clear Politics average gives Republicans a 3.6-point lead over Democrats when asked about their overall party preferences for the 2022 midterm elections.
Traditionally, a party in the White House loses seats during the first interim presidential term.
And the Democrats currently only have a 12-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
They split 50-50 with Republicans in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the deciding vote.
If the House of Representatives leans Republican, there will be questions about whether Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn will remain in their full terms or whether it will be easier for them to hand over the keys to leadership to younger members.
Democrat #4 is 58-year-old Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
She rose through the ranks of the Democrats through her fundraising prowess.
Democrat No. 5, Rep. Hakim Jeffreys of New York, has long been considered material for future speakers.
He, too, will go down in history as Jeffreys, 51, could become the nation’s first black speaker.
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