In a move destined to roil national Democrats and spark tensions among San Francisco’s political factions, state Sen. Scott Wiener is running for the congressional seat currently held by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, The Standard has learned.
According to sources close to Wiener — one of California’s most prolific Democratic legislators and a lightning rod for the conservative right (opens in new tab) — the former San Francisco supervisor has told political allies that he plans to throw his hat in the ring for the 2026 race.
Though many in Democratic circles expected him to wait until Pelosi decided her own fate in the coming weeks, Wiener is said to be ready to accelerate that timeline. Two sources with knowledge of the campaign said a formal announcement from Wiener is expected next week.
Wiener previously said he would wait until Pelosi retired. But the two-time speaker of the House, who is widely regarded as one of the most powerful women in U.S. political history, has receded from the spotlight since she gave up the gavel, creating a potential window of opportunity for challengers in the 2026 midterms.
Wiener’s revised plans may not ultimately break his pledge. Pelosi, 85, has yet to formally announce whether she will seek a 21st term in office.
Officials for Wiener’s campaign declined to comment. In a text message Wednesday, Wiener wrote: “I’ve been preparing and raising money for whenever the race starts.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi has won 20 terms to represent San Francisco in the House, but her reign may be coming to an end. | Source: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Pelosi, issued a statement saying her attention is on California’s Nov. 4 special election to pass Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure to help Democrats add five House congressional seats to counter gerrymandering by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Texas.
“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 close to Wiener told The Standard that the emergence of progressive candidate Saikat Chakrabarti — a centimillionaire who worked in tech before serving as a campaign manager and chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — has been a motivating factor in Wiener’s decision to run.
In the last few months, Chakrabarti has drawn hundreds of people to campaign kickoff events across the city, and his campaign released a poll in September showing 65% of registered voters — including 51% of Pelosi’s supporters — believe the city needs new Congressional leadership. Chakrabarti also scored better than Pelosi in a head-to-head race after their bios were given 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 said in a text message to The Standard. “That’s my campaign, regardless of who else is in the race.”
A source with knowledge of Wiener’s thinking said Chakrabarti’s poll was an eye-opener, suggesting that Pelosi is vulnerable. Jumping into the race now would give Wiener time to generate support and start fundraising for what will likely be an expensive campaign. His initial exploratory committee raised roughly $1 million.
“The majority of the electorate has no idea who [Chakrabarti] is, and momentum can build quickly,” the source said. “People are hungry for something different. There is a sense that the time has come for other candidates to run.”
A separate poll of 500 registered voters in San Francisco, conducted by EMC Research, confirmed that support for Pelosi has waned. Of those surveyed, 51% said they preferred to elect someone else to Congress. Wiener received the highest favorability rating, 61%, compared to other potential candidates. Progressive Supervisor Connie Chan earned a 28% favorability rate, while Chakrabarti earned 21% — the same percentage as Pelosi’s daughter, attorney and national Democratic Party member Christine Pelosi, who has long been rumored as a potential successor.
A poll shows state Sen. Scott Wiener having the highest favorables in a hypothetical race for Congress next year.
Wiener, who is openly gay, has garnered a reputation in the city and statehouse as an accomplished legislator who has championed YIMBY-backed bills and other laws related to LGBGT+ rights and criminal justice reform. This year’s legislative session was one of his most successful since joining the state Senate in 2016, with Newsom signing his major bills on housing and transportation, as well as a landmark AI measure.
In a December 2024 op-ed for The Standard, Wiener laid out a path for Democrats after crushing defeats in last year’s elections. He argued that Democratic-led cities and California, in particular, need to show that they can be governed well and address the affordability crisis.
“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.”