In a transfer destined to roil nationwide Democrats and spark tensions amongst San Francisco’s political factions, state Sen. Scott Wiener is operating for the congressional seat presently held by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, The Commonplace has discovered.
In accordance with sources near Wiener — considered one of California’s most prolific Democratic legislators and a lightning rod for the conservative proper (opens in new tab) — the previous San Francisco supervisor has advised political allies that he plans to throw his hat within the ring for the 2026 race.
Although many in Democratic circles anticipated him to attend till Pelosi determined her personal destiny within the coming weeks, Wiener is alleged to be able to speed up that timeline. Two sources with information of the marketing campaign stated a proper announcement from Wiener is anticipated subsequent week.
Wiener beforehand stated he would wait till Pelosi retired. However the two-time speaker of the Home, who’s broadly thought to be one of the highly effective girls in U.S. political historical past, has receded from the highlight since she gave up the gavel, creating a possible window of alternative for challengers within the 2026 midterms.
Wiener’s revised plans could not finally break his pledge. Pelosi, 85, has but to formally announce whether or not she’s going to search a twenty first time period in workplace.
Officers for Wiener’s marketing campaign declined to remark. In a textual content message Wednesday, Wiener wrote: “I’ve been preparing and raising money for whenever the race starts.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi has gained 20 phrases to characterize San Francisco within the Home, however her reign could also be coming to an finish. | Supply: Alex Wong/Getty Pictures
“Speaker Pelosi is fully focused on her mission to win the ‘Yes on 50′ special election in California on the path to taking back the House for the Democrats,” Krager wrote. “She urges all Californians to join in that mission.”
Sources near Wiener advised The Commonplace that the emergence of progressive candidate Saikat Chakrabarti — a centimillionaire who labored in tech earlier than serving as a marketing campaign supervisor and chief of workers to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — has been a motivating consider Wiener’s choice to run.
In the previous couple of months, Chakrabarti has drawn lots of of individuals to marketing campaign kickoff occasions throughout the town, and his marketing campaign launched a ballot in September exhibiting 65% of registered voters — together with 51% of Pelosi’s supporters — consider the town wants new Congressional management. Chakrabarti additionally scored higher than Pelosi in a head-to-head race after their bios got to respondents.
“The Democratic Party needs a new kind of leader who is not a part of the establishment, because the establishment has failed us,” Chakrabarti stated in a textual content message to The Commonplace. “That’s my campaign, regardless of who else is in the race.”
A supply with information of Wiener’s pondering stated Chakrabarti’s ballot was an eye-opener, suggesting that Pelosi is weak. Leaping into the race now would give Wiener time to generate help and begin fundraising for what is going to seemingly be an costly marketing campaign. His preliminary exploratory committee raised roughly $1 million.
“The majority of the electorate has no idea who [Chakrabarti] is, and momentum can build quickly,” the supply stated. “People are hungry for something different. There is a sense that the time has come for other candidates to run.”
A separate ballot of 500 registered voters in San Francisco, carried out by EMC Analysis, confirmed that help for Pelosi has waned. Of these surveyed, 51% stated they most well-liked to elect another person to Congress. Wiener obtained the best favorability ranking, 61%, in comparison with different potential candidates. Progressive Supervisor Connie Chan earned a 28% favorability charge, whereas Chakrabarti earned 21% — the identical proportion as Pelosi’s daughter, lawyer and nationwide Democratic Social gathering member Christine Pelosi, who has lengthy been rumored as a possible successor.
A ballot reveals state Sen. Scott Wiener having the best favorables in a hypothetical race for Congress subsequent 12 months.
In a December 2024 op-ed for The Commonplace, Wiener laid out a path for Democrats after crushing defeats in final 12 months’s elections. He argued that Democratic-led cities and California, specifically, want to indicate that they are often ruled properly and tackle the affordability disaster.
“The success of the state depends on our ability to lower the most important costs facing households everywhere: child care, healthcare, energy, transportation, and, most of all, housing,” Wiener wrote. “Focusing like a laser on issues of affordability will provide a powerful contrast to Trump’s Republican Party, which continues to make costly — and largely impossible — promises rather than deal with the complexities of real-world problem-solving.”
