Rumors are circulating that Chelsea Clinton may be thinking about running for Congress in New York’s 12th District after longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler announced that he will not seek re-election.

As Democratic strategists consider potential candidates who could win over voters in a rapidly expanding field, reports have emerged regarding Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But she has said several times over the years that she does not want to get involved in politics.

Nadler’s retirement concludes his 30-year tenure in Congress, during which he chaired the House Judiciary Committee while President Donald Trump was impeached for the first time. His leaving means that one of New York’s most important Democratic seats will be open for the first time in decades, which is causing a power struggle among local Democrats.

Advertisement

Nadler is the 10th most senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the 8th most senior Democrat.

Bringing up Chelsea Clinton’s name in the debate shows how strong the Clinton political brand is in Democratic circles. This also raises the question of whether a family with such strong ties to Washington could run for government again in the next generation.

On Tuesday, Jewish Insider reported from unnamed sources that Hillary Clinton was considering a run for president. The former first daughter has said many times in public that she does not want to run for office, nevertheless.

In 2019, she denied reports to The View that she might run to succeed Nita Lowey, who was leaving her job as a New York representative. When asked about her future political aspirations, she said, “I don’t know, but right now, the answer’s no.”

In the months following her mother’s loss in the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, Chelsea Clinton made similar statements.

In March 2017, she told Variety that she considers her public role more about advocacy than politics. “I am not running for office,” she stated.

As the deadline for filing approaches, speculation about the Democratic primary in NY-12 is certain to grow. Unless Clinton officially changes her mind about what she said in the past, the race will probably be between local elected officials and longtime political strategists fighting for Nadler’s seat.

In an interview with The New York Times published Monday, Nadler said Biden’s 2024 withdrawal after a bruising debate with Trump reinforced his decision, adding that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”

“I’m not saying we should change over the entire party,” Nadler told the outlet. “But I think a certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism.”

Democrats routinely call President Trump a “fascist” and “authoritarian,” but he has constantly run up against federal court rulings that have curbed many of his initiatives, though several of those rulings have been labeled as constitutionally suspect by Republicans.

For Nadler’s part, he did not say who he wanted to succeed him, only that his decision not to seek reelection “has not been easy.”

“But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation,” he said.

“I don’t know what the future beyond 2026 holds, but I plan to stay fully engaged in the community that is my home and in the causes that I’ve championed throughout my life,” Nadler continued. “My plans for the next sixteen months, however, are clear. I will continue to give everything I have to defend our democracy, protect our institutions, and fight for the values that as Americans and New Yorkers we share.”

Nadler, 78, was first elected in 1992 and served as House Judiciary Committee chair from 2019 to 2023 before becoming ranking member.