THE TOP DEMOCRAT in the US Congress said she plans to run for a 19th term in office, announcing that she had determined to stay on to combat existential threats to democracy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who turns 82 in March, had been expected to step down, with her party bracing for a possible heavy defeat in this year’s midterm elections.

Despite dire predictions of a Democratic wipeout in November, Pelosi is likely to win her liberal San Francisco district comfortably — but she did not reveal whether she intended to keep her leadership role.

“Our democracy is at risk because of the assault on the truth, the assault on the US Capitol and the state-by-state assault on voting rights,” Pelosi said in a video announcement.

“This election is crucial. Nothing less is at stake than our democracy. But as we say, we don’t agonise, we organise, and that is why I am running for reelection to Congress and respectfully seek your support.”

Pelosi, the only female speaker in US history, first took up the gavel in 2007 and returned to the role when the Democrats retook the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

After securing her party’s nomination to lead the House in 2020, Pelosi suggested it would be her last term in the job.

The job places her second in line to the presidency behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

“When people ask me, ‘What are the three most important issues facing the Congress?’ I always say the same thing: our children, our children, our children… That is my why I am in Congress, for the children,” she said.