Chan has also found a powerful ally in Nancy Pelosi, whose retirement has opened up the first competitive race for the city’s House seat in decades.

Aug 25, 2026

Updated 11:30 am PT

Supervisor Connie Chan speaks to supporters during an election night party at El Rio in San Francisco on June 2, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer is endorsing Connie Chan in the race to represent San Francisco in Congress.

The endorsement adds another legendary female politician to Chan’s list of supporters, which also includes House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, whose upcoming retirement has opened one of the most competitive elections for San Francisco’s seat in Congress in decades. 

“If ever we needed a fighter and coalition builder who puts working families first, it is now. Connie is that fighter,” Boxer said in a statement. Now retired, Boxer has remained active in politics, including supporting Democratic candidates like Will Rollins, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024, and former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s brief bid for state treasurer the same year.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, speaks during a press conference calling for the creation of an independent military justice system to deal with sexual harassment and assault in the military, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2014.

The Democrat served as a county supervisor in Marin before going on to represent Sacramento in Congress from 1983 to 1993 — one of only 23 women at the time in the House of Representatives. She then served in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2017. 

“Although we have made great progress with now 125 women representatives out of 435, there’s still a lot of work to do. Connie will ensure that gap doesn’t grow,” Boxer said. “She will make us proud.”

Chan, a progressive Democrat with wide support from labor organizations, is running against state Sen. Scott Wiener, a former San Francisco supervisor known for his work around housing legislation and LGBTQ rights at the local and state level. 

Wiener, a more moderate Democrat, has nabbed support from labor leader Dolores Huerta, the majority of the city’s current Board of Supervisors and other Democratic elected officials, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Treasurer Fiona Ma and Rep. Sam Liccardo, the former San José mayor. 

Chan meanwhile has found a powerful ally in Pelosi, who has thrown her fundraising muscle and political expertise behind her campaign. Recently, Pelosi sharply criticized one of Wiener’s campaign moves to create an AI-powered chatbot mimicking Chan. 

Chan said in a statement that she was “deeply grateful” for Boxer’s support. 

“Her career has shown what it means to fight for working families and bring local government experience directly to Washington,” Chan said. “I’m honored to follow in Senator Boxer’s footsteps and look forward to carrying that fight to Congress.”