Pelosi Challenger Saikat Chakrabarti Officially Kicks Off His 2026 Campaign at SF's The Chapel

"Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will be 86 years old and running for her 21st term (!) in Congress should she run again in November 2026. It's no secret that Scott Wiener is itching to run for the seat, as is Pelosi's daughter Christine Pelosi, though neither would dare run unless Pelosi decided to retire. The same courtesy is not being extended by Pelosi challenger Saikat Chakrabarti, who's already declared he's running against Pelosi for the seat."

"We have previously described Chakrabarti as a 39-Year-Old Bernie bro, though that may be reductive. He was director of organizing technology for the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, helped recruit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress, served as her campaign manager, and also served as her chief of staff for about eight months after she won. full house earlier this evening for Saikat Chakrabartis campaign kick-off in the Mission,"

"full house earlier this evening for Saikat Chakrabartis campaign kick-off in the Mission, for his 2026 race vs. Pelosi hundreds packed in, he blasted Dem. response to Trump but said returning to pre-Trump status quo isn't an option he wants transformational change instead pic.twitter.com/vgJr0uee7s Joe Rivano Barros (@jrivanob) October 9, 2025 Mission Local was in the house as Chakrabarti officially kicked off his campaign Wednesday night at Valencia Street's The Chapel, in front of a reported 600 people. He repeatedly name-checked his fellow Democratic Socialists Ocasio-Cortez and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani."

Saikat Chakrabarti, 39, launched a 2026 campaign in San Francisco to challenge Nancy Pelosi for her congressional seat. Chakrabarti identifies as a Democratic Socialist and has made $170 million in tech. He served as director of organizing technology for Bernie Sanders's 2016 campaign, recruited and managed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's congressional campaign, and was her chief of staff for about eight months. Pelosi would be 86 in 2026 and has won 20 consecutive elections, and other local Democrats have signaled interest only if she retires. Chakrabarti drew a large kickoff crowd, called the moment a fascist coup, and demanded transformational change rather than returning to a pre-Trump status quo.

Read at sfist.com