“Pelosi’s late endorsement of Chan appears to have achieved its immediate goal: helping secure her place in the top two and preventing Chakrabarti from turning the race into a national proxy battle between Democratic establishment figures and the party’s progressive flank.”
By Nadia Lopez
June 3, 2026 (Axios.com)
Left photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images. Right photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
State Sen. Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan advanced to November’s election to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi in one of San Francisco’s most closely watched Democratic contests.
By the numbers: Wiener secured a runoff spot with about 41% of the vote, and Chan secured about 29%, per the AP.
- Chan celebrated her second place lead at an election party last night after returns showed her nearly doubling the votes of former congressional aide Saikat Chakrabarti — despite his self-funded $10 million campaign.
The big picture: The race for the 11th Congressional District is shaping up as a fight between two elected officials with similar priorities but contrasting visions of how San Francisco should wield power in Washington.
State of play: Wiener enters the runoff as the establishment favorite, backed by much of the city’s political and business leadership. If Chan advances, it’ll be with support from Pelosi, organized labor and neighborhood-based progressive groups.
Pelosi’s late endorsement of Chan appears to have achieved its immediate goal: helping secure her place in the top two and preventing Chakrabarti from turning the race into a national proxy battle between Democratic establishment figures and the party’s progressive flank.
- “Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement absolutely turned the tide for us,” Chan told Axios last night.
Wiener has built his political brand around pursuing housing construction, transit investments and statewide legislative wins.
- Chan championed affordability, labor protections and public services as a supervisor while positioning herself as a more grounded voice for working-class residents.
What we’re watching: Chan’s path now depends on consolidating voters who wanted a more progressive alternative to Wiener while also expanding beyond her traditional political base.
- If elected, Chan would become the first Asian American to represent San Francisco in Congress, a milestone that could resonate in a city where nearly one-quarter of residents are Chinese American.
