{"id":480377,"date":"2026-09-30T10:42:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/480377\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T10:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:42:54","slug":"race-to-replace-pelosi-divides-democrats-in-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/480377\/","title":{"rendered":"Race to replace Pelosi divides Democrats in San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After being securely held for nearly four decades by one of the most preeminent politicians in California history, the House seat to represent bright blue San Francisco in Congress is up for grabs<\/a> in November \u2014 and dividing the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), 86, the powerful former House Speaker who\u2019s held the seat since 1987, announced last year that she would not run again<\/a>. In May, she passed over state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) \u2014 a prolific California legislator<\/a> long considered a potential successor \u2014 to endorse San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, a local progressive with less legislative experience but strong support from labor.<\/p>\n

Pelosi\u2019s endorsement sent Chan, who had been languishing in polls, surging past Democratic tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti in the June primary. Chan finished with nearly 30% of the vote and Chakrabarti took 18%. Wiener won<\/a>, with nearly 41% of the vote.<\/p>\n

Both Wiener, a gay man and staunch advocate for the city\u2019s large LGBTQ+ community, and Chan, who immigrated to the city from Hong Kong at age 13 and has deep ties to its large Chinese and immigrant communities, would make history by winning. Wiener would be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent the city in Congress, and Chan the first Asian American immigrant woman.<\/p>\n

The race has sharply divided the state\u2019s Democratic establishment as a rare intraparty showdown between a deft legislator who has driven liberal California policy for years and a rising progressive with the powerful imprimatur of the icon<\/a> they seek to replace.<\/p>\n

Both acknowledge they would take the same or similar positions on many issues, and fiercely oppose President Trump\u2019s agenda<\/a>. But they also say San Franciscans face a real choice between them that will help define the city for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a clear cut between the two of us,\u201d Chan said. \u201cHe has long enjoyed establishment support and industry support, and we\u2019ve been grassroots, on the ground, [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community, working people and labor unions \u2014 in collaboration and coalition building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need Democrats who are willing to fight \u2014 to fight in a smart way, and to fight in an aggressive way, to defeat Donald Trump and to lower the cost of living,\u201d Wiener said. \u201cWe are past the time where we need Democrats in office who were just going along to get along, or who, like Connie Chan, are just part of the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiener is a MAGA target<\/p>\n

Wiener, 56, has lived in the Castro neighborhood<\/a> since 1997 and was a deputy city attorney and local Democratic Party chair before being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2010. He was elected in 2016 to the state Senate, where he\u2019s had a massive influence, authoring more than 100 bills that have been signed into law. Allies and critics say he is a workhorse, and at times both effective and divisive.<\/p>\n

Wiener has been endorsed by the state and local Democratic parties; a slew of state leaders including California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, state Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Lim\u00f3n (D-Santa Barbara) and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister); various queer and labor groups including AFSCME; more than half the city\u2019s supervisors; and various members of Congress.<\/p>\n

Wiener has passed some of the state\u2019s most progressive laws on LGBTQ+ rights, including protections for gender-affirming care<\/a>, and challenged federal immigration agents<\/a> in California. He has also pushed progressive laws \u2014 backing safe injection sites, extending bar hours until 4 a.m., decriminalizing psychedelic drugs \u2014 that have put some of his fellow Democrats in uncomfortable spots when forced to vote on the controversial issues.<\/p>\n

Some in San Francisco label him a moderate, though that designation would draw laughs elsewhere in the country and even in Sacramento. Wiener is one of the most reviled state politicians on the conservative right nationally, and has received scores of death threats for his work, particularly on transgender issues. His website touts a laundry list of profane and homophobic attacks from MAGA loyalists<\/a> \u2014 Elon Musk called him a \u201cscumbag,\u201d former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called him a \u201ccommunist groomer\u201d \u2014 that he wears as a badge of honor.<\/p>\n

On housing, Wiener has pushed for deregulation and development near transit hubs statewide<\/a> to solve the housing and affordability crises, riling some homeowners averse to increased density and some progressives who say his plan favors developers and threatens existing rent-controlled housing. On tech, Wiener has pushed for artificial intelligence regulation<\/a> but also been criticized for taking a technocratic approach with buy-in from wealthy tech leaders.<\/p>\n

Wiener has passed laws protecting net neutrality<\/a>, capping prescription costs and mandating mental health parity, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, and requiring corporations disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. He has received substantial financial support from tech leaders and opposes Proposition 40<\/a>, the ballot measure that seeks to impose a one-time tax on the state\u2019s billionaires.<\/p>\n

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), also gay and a former Long Beach mayor, said he considers Wiener a friend but also a generational legislator who has \u201cled the country\u201d on LGBTQ+ rights and housing policy. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better legislator in the United States on housing,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who worked with Wiener for years in the state Legislature, said he has been a champion for many issues important to Californians \u2014 including the environment<\/a> \u2014 while holding big industry accountable and backing labor. She said while many politicians decide to either rack up easy wins with legislation that barely moves the needle or focus on \u201cprogressive value signaling\u201d without accomplishing much of anything, Wiener \u201ctakes on some of the most difficult and controversial progressive issues and really gets them done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy Tung, the local Democratic Party chair, said many San Francisco politicians \u201crecede\u201d from the city\u2019s raucous local policy debate once they reach higher office, but Wiener is \u201cstill is in the knife fight,\u201d especially on housing and affordability issues \u2014 showing he cares about the city and making him \u201csuch a good fit\u201d for Congress.<\/p>\n

Tung said she understands the appeal of sending a fellow Asian American woman to Congress in this political moment, but that Chan \u201cjust does not have the legislative record that Scott has.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chan for \u2018working people\u2019<\/p>\n

Chan, 47, who lived in a rent-controlled Chinatown apartment after immigrating with her mother and younger brother, now lives with her firefighter husband and son in the Richmond neighborhood. She was a community and legislative aide for years \u2014 including for then-Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris<\/a> \u2014 before being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2020. She has served as budget chair since 2023 and has centered her campaign, largely funded by Pelosi\u2019s network, around what she calls her \u201ccareer fighting for working people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chan has been endorsed by a host of Congress members, including Pelosi and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)<\/a>; major labor groups including the California Federation of Labor Unions and the California Teachers Assn.; various progressive organizations and fellow and former supervisors; former mayor and S.F. power broker Willie Brown; and Chakrabarti, who since the primary has shared his campaign staff and funding with her.<\/p>\n

Chan, who supports Proposition 40, has helped create a $400-million reserve fund in San Francisco<\/a> to make up for federal cuts to Medicaid and housing subsidies. She also passed a supplemental budget to fund immigration defense services for people targeted by the Trump administration and passed various labor-friendly measures, including a minimum wage increase for in-home workers and cost-of-living adjustments for city service workers.<\/p>\n

Pelosi said Chan \u201cunderstands that budgets are statements of our values,\u201d has \u201cchampioned justice and progress for working families\u201d and \u201cbrings an important lived experience to this moment\u201d as an immigrant woman. Schiff said Chan has impressed him as \u201ca very powerful voice for those who are disenfranchised\u201d and someone with \u201cthe potential of growing into\u201d a leader like Pelosi.<\/p>\n

Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, said she encouraged Pelosi to endorse Chan because Chan \u201csupports San Francisco values,\u201d listens to labor and is a great strategist. <\/p>\n

Cleve Jones, the San Francisco activist who has fought for gay political representation since Harvey Milk\u2019s historic 1977 election<\/a> to the Board of Supervisors, said Wiener \u201chas done some very good things, particularly around LGBTQ issues and HIV\/AIDS,\u201d but also angered some in the LGBTQ+ community by repeatedly showing up to an annual Trans March that organizers ask politicians not to attend.<\/p>\n

Wiener, who is Jewish, was aggressively heckled at this year\u2019s march, namely for his stance on the Israeli war in Gaza, which he was slower than other progressives to label a genocide. Conservatives mocked him for being targeted by his base, and Wiener ended up fundraising off the incident \u2014 which Jones said was \u201cso cynical.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Wiener\u2019s \u201cloyalty is to big developers, big tech and big real estate,\u201d and that he \u201cdoesn\u2019t really see the urgency of yet another white man elected to Congress\u201d when San Francisco can send a stronger message by electing Chan, an immigrant woman of color.<\/p>\n

Affordability and Trump<\/p>\n

Chan said she is a \u201cpragmatic\u201d progressive who has balanced the city\u2019s budget while protecting \u201chealthcare, education, immigration resources\u201d and other working-class priorities. She said Wiener is focused on deregulation for market-rate housing development, whereas she has prioritized tenants\u2019 rights and protecting existing rent-controlled housing in her push for affordable units.<\/p>\n

Chan said she will \u201cwalk and chew gum at the same time\u201d in Washington by working for affordability while battling Trump, including by reversing his healthcare cuts, expanding Medicaid, providing affordable childcare, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and finally figuring out meaningful immigration reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sugarcoating it as if it\u2019s easy. But we gotta be able to find ways to work together to push those things forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Wiener said he and Chan share the goal \u201cof getting Trump and MAGA out of office, and then making sure that people never feel tempted to flirt with authoritarianism again.\u201d <\/p>\n

But he said the way to do that is to advance policies that will \u201clower people\u2019s cost of living and make people\u2019s lives more sustainable\u201d \u2014 including by passing universal healthcare, building millions of new homes, creating low-cost child care and leading a clean energy transition \u2014 and that he is the only candidate in the race with a proven ability to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a race to succeed the most effective and operational member of Congress in modern American history,\u201d Wiener said. \u201cSan Francisco should send someone who actually has a track record, a proven track record, of being able to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After being securely held for nearly four decades by one of the most preeminent politicians in California history,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[188398,136061,1409,1752,1525,1751,1011,845,7036,721,188397,9553,101,103,102,104,106,105,225,9552],"class_list":["post-480377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-budget-chair","tag-chan","tag-city","tag-congress","tag-democratic-party","tag-democrats","tag-housing","tag-labor","tag-last-year","tag-law","tag-local-progressive","tag-pelosi","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-state","tag-wiener"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}