\u201cSan Franciscans! How does it feel to beat $10 million?!\u201d Chan said to a thronging crowd of over 100 people gathered at El Rio in the Mission District. Chakrabarti, her rival, spent about $10 million of his own money<\/a> on his campaign.<\/p>\n Chan then all but declared victory. <\/p>\n \u201cThis, this tonight, is a start for many, many people to see the billionaires, all not just in San Francisco, but across the nation. We\u2019re coming for you,\u201d Chan said. And, she added, \u201cWe will win on November 3rd!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes we Chan!\u201d the crowd returned.<\/p>\n If Chan advances and sizable portions of Chakrabarti\u2019s base flock to her as the progressive standard-bearer, strategists said she would be very competitive.<\/p>\n David Ho, who ran an independent expenditure committee backing Chan, expressed optimism: \u201cIf you add up Saikat\u2019s votes and Connie\u2019s it might be more than Scott\u2019s at the end of the day, and I think this will grow,\u201d he said after the first vote drop at 8:45 p.m.<\/p>\n Now, with two more drops, that has happened: Chakrabarti and Chan\u2019s combined vote total is about 47,000, while Scott is at 44,500. <\/p>\n Chakrabarti continued his crusade at his election night party.\u00a0<\/p>\n When he first started his campaign, he said, \u201cit was just a couple of us who had the crazy idea of challenging Nancy Pelosi. Who does that?\u201d The crowd at the Chapel on Valencia Street cheered loudly.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a new generation of candidates powered by people and go to D.C. and not just fight Trump but build a society that works for everybody, not just the richest few.\u201d<\/p>\n The low number of votes received, he said, were \u201cexpected,\u201d and his team will continue monitoring the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, in the two new vote drops since 8:45 p.m, Chan has picked up more votes than Chakrabarti. She has gained about 6,500 while he has picked up 4,500.<\/p>\n Wiener, for his part, stood before his own crowd on election night and said simply: \u201cWe\u2019re going to Washington.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Chan, he said, is \u201cbest known for what she opposed,\u201d but San Francisco voters want a \u201cforward-thinking vision.\u201d<\/p>\n As he finished his speech, the crowd broke into chants of \u201cScott, Scott, Scott!\u201d<\/p>\n Chakrabarti turned the race into a broader challenge<\/a> to the Democratic establishment and, as a Bernie Sanders veteran and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s former chief of staff, embraced national progressive issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n He ran an insurgent campaign and was likened by his supporters to New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani \u2014 \u201cWe can let a thousand Zohrans bloom<\/a>\u201d was a Mao-infused slogan at Chakrabarti\u2019s May rally. Younger voters saw hope in Chakrabaiti.\u00a0<\/p>\n Younger voters, however, didn\u2019t show up to vote. And San Francisco doesn\u2019t have a good track record<\/a> of electing insurgent candidates like New York; its contributions to higher-level politics are typically establishment figures like Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom and former senator, vice president and presidential also-ran Kamala Harris.\u00a0<\/p>\n And Chan, a homegrown politico who has served years on the Board of Supervisors \u2014 and in mid-May was endorsed by Pelosi as her hand-picked successor \u2014 had a far longer track record within city limits.<\/p>\n Chan consolidated the city\u2019s progressive political coalition and was neck-and-neck in the polls with Chakrabarti for several weeks, despite a lack of funds: Her own campaign raised less than $1 million, while Chakrabarti poured some $10 million of his own funds \u2014\u00a0he is worth more than $100 million from his early days at Stripe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chakrabarti hired some of the same personnel<\/a> as prior major citywide campaigns, and ran one of the biggest field operations<\/a> in the city\u2019s history, with more than 200 paid canvassers<\/a> paid up to $45 an hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n But his lack of ties to local political circles was hard to make up. His two rivals each took away the moderate and progressive side of endorsements.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chakrabarti was never an elected official in San Francisco and ran his campaign to replace Pelosi before the latter announced retirement. He found himself struggling in a city where every aspiring politico is either on Team Pelosi or wants to join Team Pelosi.\u00a0<\/p>\n The attacks on his scant record in San Francisco \u2014 mostly from Wiener supporters \u2014 effectively set a narrative early on that he was a carpetbagger. The messaging was so effective that, in the final days leading to June 2, Chakrabarti ran an ad<\/a> featuring his family sitting at a city park to prove his local connection. <\/p>\n Neither Wiener nor Chan would ever need to do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chan and Chakrabarti long avoided directly attacking each other \u2014 both targeted Wiener instead \u2014 because poll numbers suggest that whoever advances in June will need to win over all or most of the other\u2019s supporters<\/a> to ultimately beat Wiener in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n But both started attacking each other fiercely in the last two weeks, seemingly to Wiener\u2019s favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe way [the fighting] played out in this last election cycle is really ugly,\u201d said Wendy Aragon, a longtime organizer and Chan supporter. What, she asked, will Chakrabarti \u201cdo to repair it?\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Io Yeh Gilman and Eleni Balakrishnan.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_2395.jpeg\")
The crowd at El Rio roars for Connie Chan on June 2, 2026. Photo by Abigail V\u00e2n Neely.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/MG_9934-930x620.jpeg\")
Saikat Chakrabarti makes an announcement after the second election results drop on June 2, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/062026_ZM_SaikatChakrabartisCampaignParty9-930x620.jpg\")
Saikat Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign supporters on stage during his campaign party after the 8:45 results on June 2, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/062026_ZM_ConnieCanElectionDay-1-930x620.jpeg\")
Connie Chan, District 1 Supervisor running for Congress, campaigns on 24th and Mission St on election day, June 2, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n