Supervisor Chan and state Sen. Wiener will deliver their visions for the future as they vie for the seat being vacated by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
By Sarah Feldberg, Staff Writer July 29, 2026
Gift Article (SFChronicle.com)
The San Francisco Chronicle and KQED will co-host a congressional debate on Oct. 1. SF Chronicle
As House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi prepares to retire after 39 years in Congress, two San Francisco politicians are vying to fill her seat.
Supervisor Connie Chan and state Sen. Scott Wiener will take the stage and present their cases to city voters at a live congressional debate co-presented by the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED on Oct. 1.
The candidates, both Democrats, will share their visions for the future and be asked to discuss the most pressing issues facing San Francisco and the country, including affordability, tech and the economy, immigration, foreign conflicts and the city’s role in national politics.
Moderated by Chronicle senior political writer Joe Garofoli and KQED political correspondents Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer, the debate will give San Francisco voters the chance to hear directly from the candidates, compare their perspectives on a range of critical topics and learn how they’ll represent the district in Washington.
- For our subscribers: Get a free ticket to the Chronicle and KQED’s congressional debate
“Pelosi has held this seat since 1987 and didn’t debate anyone after first getting elected. So this is a rare opportunity to see House candidates battling to represent San Francisco go toe-to-toe,” Garofoli said.
The District 11 debate will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 in front of a live audience at KQED’s headquarters in the Mission District and streamed online. In-person tickets are sold out, but you can click here to register for the free livestream.
To follow all of the Chronicle’s political coverage ahead of Election Day, click here.
About the moderators
Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at the Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He was the host of It’s All Political, the Chronicle’s political podcast. He has won numerous awards including the Polk Award and a Webby Award for Best Documentary Podcast, and in addition to politics has covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games.
Marisa Lagos is a correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-hosts the award winning show and podcast, Political Breakdown. At KQED, Lagos also conducts reporting, analysis and investigations into state, local and national politics for radio, TV, online and on stage. In 2022, she and Shafer moderated the only gubernatorial debate in California. In 2020, the Washington Post named her one of the top political journalists in California; she was nominated for a Peabody and won several other awards for her work investigating the 2017 California wildfires. She has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Los Angeles Times. A UC Santa Barbara graduate, she lives in San Francisco with her two sons and husband.
Scott Shafer came to KQED in 1998 to hostThe California Report. Prior to that he had extended stints in politics and government. Using that inside experience, he is now Senior Politics Correspondent for KQED’s Politics and Government Desk where he provides reporting, hosting and analysis while also overseeing the politics desk. Scott co-hosts the daily show and podcast Political Breakdown with Marisa Lagos and he collaborated on The Political Mind of Jerry Brown, an eight-part series about the life and extraordinary political career of the former governor.
About the San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfchronicle.com) is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst in 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded seven Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence.
About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source and leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas. kqed.org
July 29, 2026
Editor of Emerging Product
Sarah Feldberg oversees emerging products at the Chronicle, including live events, new initiatives and Total SF. Previously, she edited the Culture Desk section and worked as the assistant travel editor. Before joining the Chronicle, Sarah was a freelance writer — contributing to Afar, National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, NPR and the BBC — and the editor in chief of Las Vegas Weekly. Her stories and work she has edited have been recognized by the Society for Features Journalism Awards, Best of the West, the Online News Association, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and the Nevada Press Association.
How to reach Sarah
To share story tips or feedback, email sarah.feldberg@sfchronicle.com.
