San Francisco is no stranger to wealthy players in politics, and the race to replace one of Congress’ richest members (opens in new tab) — Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — has become the latest battleground.
Many city voters may have received a postcard-style mailer featuring Saikat Chakrabarti, a former tech founder and centimillionaire who is largely self-funding his campaign. The mailer includes images of crabs, scenic waterfront views, and landmarks in Maryland.
“Saikat Chakrabarti sends greetings from Maryland,” the mailer reads. “Saikat is an out-of-town millionaire trying to buy our seat in Congress.”
A super PAC-funded mailer features Saikat Chakrabarti. | Source: Courtesy photo
The piece marks the first major attack from a super PAC involved in the race. The spending group, Abundant Future, was formed in late 2025 and had raised about $235,000 by year’s end (opens in new tab), largely from wealthy tech leaders. The mailer, which cites reporting from The Standard revealing that Chakrabarti once misidentified a home he bought in Maryland as his primary residence, marks an escalation in the money war against the progressive candidate, who has bought a wave of TV ads that cost his campaign in the high six-figures.
Despite Chakrabarti’s tech ties as an early employee of Stripe, Abundant Future’s donors hail largely from Silicon Valley. Among them are crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Yelp cofounder Jeremy Stoppelman, and socialite Dede Wilsey, all of whom have donated to state Sen. Scott Wiener’s congressional campaign.
Ten candidates are running to succeed Pelosi. The top two candidates in the June primary will advance to the November election.
Recent filings show Abundant Future spent about $65,000 (opens in new tab) on direct mail, printing, and postage to attack Chakrabarti.
“I’m super supportive of Scott, the hardest-working legislator I know!” Larsen, the PAC’s top donor, at $100,000, told The Standard in an email. “And on Chakrabarti — never trust a multimillionaire socialist!”
Tan, who recently formed a high-profile political alliance (opens in new tab) with Wiener, contributed $25,000 to the PAC last year. Wiener announced tech-related legislation last week at the San Francisco headquarters of Y Combinator.
Sam Singer, a spokesperson for Tan, said the venture capitalist strongly supports Wiener and believes he knows how to build coalitions and get things done. “Unlike his opponents, Scott has real grassroots support, so expect even more people to rally behind him,” Singer said.
Wiener’s campaign, which by law can not involve itself in the activities of a super PAC, declined to comment.
Chakrabarti’s campaign pushed back on the mailer, accusing Wiener of being backed by supporters of President Donald Trump, as Larsen’s company was a major donor (opens in new tab) to the president’s inauguration.
“They’re attacking Saikat because he helped his parents buy a house in Maryland. That tells you everything you need to know,” said Tiffaney Bradley, a spokesperson for the campaign.
The feud between Wiener and Chakrabarti has grown increasingly contentious in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Wiener flamed Chakrabarti on social media (opens in new tab) for misrepresenting his residence and deleting 13 years of posts. Soon after, Chakrabarti released a video (opens in new tab) criticizing Wiener for avoiding debates.
Other contenders for Pelosi’s seat are entering the fray. Marie Hurabiell, a more conservative candidate, has joined Chakrabarti in attacking Wiener, calling him a radical and suggesting that the state senator sees Chakrabarti as a threat whom he cannot defeat on policy grounds. Supervisor Connie Chan, a progressive candidate who’s been largely absent from the back-and-forth, released a video (opens in new tab) mocking the feud.
“Now I have to get back to work,” Chan says in the video. “I’ve got a budget committee to chair.”