{"id":48150,"date":"2026-05-09T13:21:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T20:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48150"},"modified":"2026-05-09T13:32:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T20:32:59","slug":"let-a-thousand-zohrans-bloom-leftists-fly-in-to-boost-saikat-chakrabarti-as-s-f-s-insurgent-savior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/let-a-thousand-zohrans-bloom-leftists-fly-in-to-boost-saikat-chakrabarti-as-s-f-s-insurgent-savior\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Let a thousand Zohrans bloom:\u2019 Progressives fly in to boost Saikat Chakrabarti at “Change the Party” rally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A by Kelly Waldron<\/a> <\/strong>May 8, 2026 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Saikat Chakrabarti at his campaign’s “Change the Party” rally on May 7, 2026. Photo by Kelly Waldron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti<\/a> is an outsider to San Francisco politics who has not been welcomed by the city\u2019s political establishment, progressives and moderates alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead of seeking their vote of confidence, he\u2019s bringing other outsiders in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday evening, Chakrabarti\u2019s \u201cChange the Party\u201d rally drew many hundreds of attendees who packed City Nights, a nightclub in SoMa, to the brim. Daddy Yankee\u2019s \u201cGasolina\u201d blasted from the speakers while attendees waved \u201cFight Trump\u201d and \u201cLower costs\u201d signs in the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamaal Bowman, former representative for New York\u2019s 16th District, flew in for the event, as did Darializa Avila Chevalier, Angela Gonzales-Torres, and Melat Kiros, who are running for seats in the House of Representatives for New York City, Los Angeles and Denver, respectively.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to completely change the direction of leadership of the Democratic party. We need a Democratic party that knows how to fight to stop authoritarian rule,\u201d said Chakrabarti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the biggest draw, and most controversial aspect, of the night was ostensibly not Chakrabarti, but Hasan Piker, a popular left-wing commentator who has over three million followers on Twitch, and according to Wired<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>streams for seven to eight hours a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sunset<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Mission Local<\/em> waited to speak with Chakrabarti before the rally, the candidate was backstage, in the middle of streaming with Piker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the rally, Piker\u2019s comments echoed Chakrabarti\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe deserve a better party that will put your interests first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He likened Chakrabarti to Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who was elected mayor of New York City last year, and reappropriated a popular Maoist slogan: \u201cWe can let a thousand Zohrans bloom,\u201d Piker said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chakrabarti, both as a candidate and in his previous role<\/a> as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s chief of staff, has positioned himself as a combative foil for mainstream Democrats. While his campaign is staunchly anti-Trump, he has taken particular aim at the Democratic Party and what he calls its failure to stop Trump\u2019s authoritarianism. \u276e\u276f\"Beauty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe ruffled some feathers with the Democratic establishment,\u201d Chakrabarti said to the roaring crowd. \u201cAnd I\u2019m glad we did.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike his opponents, State Senator Scott Wiener<\/a> and Supervisor Connie Chan<\/a>, Chakrabarti has not held office in San Francisco and, before putting his hat in the ring and spending $4.8 million<\/a> on his own campaign, had little name recognition here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked how he plans to build trust with voters who may not know him, Chakrabarti said he is focused on getting as much face time with voters as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not part of the local political establishment,\u201d Chakrabarti said. \u201cThe way that we\u2019ve been running this campaign from the start is to be as physically available as possible. We\u2019ve done more public events, more direct voter contact, more conversations with real people in San Francisco than any of my opponents \u2014 I think all my opponents combined, at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centimillionaire former Stripe engineer, who is likely worth more than $100 million and has paid gobs<\/a> to hire an army of door-knockers<\/a> to get his name out, is also turning to social media and its influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2190\u2192<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 \/ 6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday night, Chakrabarti took interviews with both members of the press and members of what his campaign dubbed \u201cnew media:\u201d Content creators and internet personalities with millions in combined followers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The content creators filed in line, waiting to speak to Chakrabarti backstage and get a few dedicated minutes with the candidate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Piker is the most popular (he is sometimes stylized the \u201cJoe Rogan of the Left\u201d), and has subsequently drawn the most ire from moderate Democrats here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisor Matt Dorsey authored a resolution<\/a> the same day as the rally asking the San Francisco Democratic Party to condemn Piker and reject any attempt to \u201cchange\u201d the Democratic Party to align with Piker\u2019s views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorsey has taken issue with Piker\u2019s outspoken criticism of Israel \u2014 Dorsey is, in his own words<\/a>, a \u201cself-proclaimed Zionist\u201d \u2014 and Piker\u2019s comments saying that \u201cAmericans deserved 9\/11,\u201d plus a bizarre rant<\/a> in which the streamer called a Vietnamese refugee a \u201cfucking idiotic old lady\u201d for opposing communism and supporting President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"5k<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dorsey and others have sought to paint the online tirade as anti-Asian, though Piker has said<\/a> that \u201cwhile my sentiment is vulgar,\u201d his statements have been taken out of context \u2014 he is streaming for much of the day, after all.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on Thursday, no one in the hot and crowded room seemed to pay much attention to Dorsey\u2019s flogging. The crowd was more focused on stump chants like \u201cAbolish ICE,\u201d \u201cTax the Rich\u201d and \u201cMedicare for All.\u201d While flyers posted around the city had advertised a planned counter-protest outside the rally, no one showed up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people who didn\u2019t want me to be here today from the San Francisco Democratic Party, from numerous astroturf organizations that put fliers all around San Francisco,\u201d Piker said on stage. But, he added, \u201cnot a single person showed up to protest. They have the money and interest, but we have the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This May we have a $50K match!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mission Local<\/em> has been growing its local coverage: We’re designating reporters to five neighborhoods<\/strong> \u2014 the Tenderloin, Richmond, Sunset, Bayview, and the Mission to provide free, first-rate neighborhood reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having reporters on-the-ground, asking questions is what makes Mission Local<\/em> stand out \u2014 it\u2019s our biggest strength, and we intend to bring that to every neighborhood we cover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our goal this May is to raise $125,000 \u2014 the price of adding a reporter to one neighborhood for one year<\/strong>. If you donate to our fundraiser today, your gift is doubled<\/strong> thanks to the match.about:blank<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double my donation!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latest election coverage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Explore:<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Explore: $8M going to S.F. ballot measures<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Meet<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meet the District 2 candidates: Do you support layoffs this budget cycle?<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"At<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At debate, District 2 candidates part ways on housing<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kelly WaldronData Reporter<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

kelly@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly Waldron is a data reporter at Mission Local. She studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism and earning a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School. You can reach her on Signal @kwaldron.60.More by Kelly Waldron<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kelly Waldron May 8, 2026 (MissionLocal.org) Congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti is an outsider to San Francisco politics who has not been welcomed by the city\u2019s political establishment, progressives and moderates alike.  But instead of seeking their vote of confidence, he\u2019s bringing other outsiders in.  On Thursday evening, Chakrabarti\u2019s \u201cChange the Party\u201d rally… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48150"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48152,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48150\/revisions\/48152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}