Who are the candidates vying for Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress?

SAN FRANCISCO - After nearly 40 historic years in Congress, trailblazing San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi will retire at the end of her term, with her seat up for grabs in the upcoming election.

The list of candidates vying to replace Pelosi is long. Almost a dozen names are on the California Secretary of State’s certified list for the District 11 San Francisco seat.

Widely considered the most liberal city in the country, it's not a surprise that the top three front-runners in the race are all Democrats.   

Candidates running to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi

Here’s a look at their profiles:

Scott Wiener 

Scott Wiener was a San Francisco supervisor from 2011 to 2016. He’s currently serving his third term in the State Senate. On his campaign website, he touts himself as a champion of progressive policies. 

He said his political track record includes spearheading more than 100 state laws focused on affordability, safety, and access to housing.

What they're saying:

"Scott has never shied away from tough, important issues even at personal cost. He took on a broken status quo to help build a statewide and national pro-housing movement, despite a tidal wave of personal attacks," his website said.

Dig deeper:

Wiener has been running on a promise to build 8 million homes over the next decade, with half of those adopting a model of a mixed-income social housing program that leverages public and private investment to construct homes. 

Housing

The plan also calls for increasing housing production from the federal affordable housing tax credit and encouraging faster and cheaper building by incentivizing local governments.  

Wiener’s other priorities include fighting federal agencies that unlawfully target immigrant communities. He has pushed for the abolition of ICE. 

"Scott authored and passed our nation’s first law banning ICE and other law enforcement from wearing Gestapo-like face masks they use to hide from accountability and create an atmosphere of impunity — the No Secret Police Act," his website noted. "Now Scott is fighting to pass the No Kings Act, which allows California residents to sue ICE and other federal agents for violating your rights." 

Healthcare

 He’s also seeking to establish Medicare for all. He said that living with a chronic autoimmune condition, Crohn’s Disease, most of his life, he has experienced first-hand the inefficiencies of the current healthcare system. 

"That’s why he’s fought tirelessly to take on and defeat the powerful interests that undermine healthcare access and affordability," he shared. "Scott’s firm belief that health care is a human right drove him to pass the biggest expansion of mental healthcare in California history, forcing giant insurance companies to cover mental health and addiction treatment the same way they cover physical health conditions."  

As a San Francisco supervisor, he authored many first-of-its kind laws in the nation. They included paid parental leave for all working parents and mandating new developments to include water recycling and solar power.

Public transportation

On April 1, Wiener was among four invited candidates to a debate at the San Francisco Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Attended by some 200 people, the state senator touted his record saying, "I have worked incredibly hard for this community and I have delivered on housing, on healthcare access, on clean energy."

And he looked ahead to what his priorities would be if elected to Congress. 

"Huge focus for me will be investing in our public transportation. I will also focus intensively on reducing the cost of housing and make sure the government is funding the mixed housing that we need," the candidate said.  

Wiener has also pushed for pro-LGBTQ legislative policies. When Pelosi announced she was retiring, Wiener praised her as a transformative leader, noting that she came into Congress around the time he came out as gay, and honored her for her pioneering leadership, saying she "stepped up and used her voice and platform for people like me." 

The backstory:

The 55-year-old politician, the son of a small business owner and a public school teacher, grew up in New Jersey and has been living in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Connie Chan

San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan worked her way up through the ranks of local government, starting as a legislative aide in 2006 for then-Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. She also served in that same capacity for Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

During Kamala Harris’s tenure as San Francisco district attorney, Chan was a public safety and communications aide and liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

The SF supervisor also has held leadership roles at the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department and at City College of San Francisco.

She was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2020, and has served as Chair of the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee. 

What they're saying:

"As Supervisor, recognizing the looming threat of federal cuts, Connie proactively created a $400 million revenue risk reserve fund in the 2025-2026 budget to ensure funding would be available for healthcare, food security, housing, and other services at risk of being cut," she wrote on her campaign website, adding, "And in the face of attacks against our immigrant community, Connie introduced a supplemental budget to provide additional aid to immigration defense collaborative, to provide legal services, support and education."

Housing

Dig deeper:

Chan promised to work to create housing that working families can afford. 

She said the federal government must step up its role by providing more grants and low-interest loans to finance affordable homes and also expand housing tax credits to encourage mixed-used developments, as well as providing increased rental assistance to "vulnerable tenants." 

Affordability

As part of a two-pronged approach toward affordability, she said she would work to increase wages and expand job opportunities by making investments in manufacturing and construction. 

She promised to "work in solidarity with organized labor to raise the national minimum wage and secure fair wages for all workers – in the United States and our major trading partners," according to her website.

Immigrant rights

Other areas of emphasis include fighting for immigrant rights. She promised to push for comprehensive immigration reform and said she would stand up against the Trump administration and call for accountability for violations of laws in place that protect immigrants.  

"San Francisco is a city that was built by immigrants. No city in the nation understands more the importance of standing up for our immigrant communities and all those who have been targeted by Donald Trump," she wrote. "As a first generation immigrant, Connie feels this deeply and supports creating a pathway to citizenship, protecting and reaffirming birthright citizenship, and protecting San Francisco as a sanctuary city."

Healthcare

She is an advocate for a universal, single-payer healthcare system and vowed to fight for access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion and affordable contraception. 

She also promised to push for LGBTQ rights. "Connie Chan will fight back against the bigoted and transphobic Trump agenda and work with likeminded colleagues to protect our LGBTQ+ community," her website said. 

Chan said her track record demonstrates her commitment to environmental sustainability policies and is calling for investments to promote clean energy.

"As a legislative staffer, Connie was proud to work with Supervisor Sophie Maxwell in shutting down the Mirant Power Plant that was polluting our communities. And she was proud that her first bill as a Supervisor was to ban oil extraction in San Francisco," she wrote.

San Francisco-focused approach

Chan was also among the four invited to the April 1 debate. If elected, she said she would take on the job with a San Francisco-focused approach. 

"As a freshman, my job will be combing through appropriation bills and making sure if there is anything that is truly benefiting that we can bring back to San Francisco," said Supervisor Chan. 

And she called for continuing Pelosi's work.

"When Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided not to run for reelection, we said it is time that we stand up and see what we can do to continue to build on her legacy for San Francisco," Chan said. 

The backstory:

Chan was born in Hong Kong and moved to San Francisco when she was 13 with her mother and brother. She and her family lived in a rent-controlled apartment in Chinatown. 

She graduated from San Francisco’s Galileo High School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis.

Saikat Chakrabarti

Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti is an economic policy director and former Silicon Valley software engineer and entrepreneur who left the tech industry to join Bernie Sanders’s campaign in 2016.

Chakrabarti would then co-found the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats, and in 2018, ran Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign in the Bronx. 

"Our scrappy team pulled off the most shocking primary upset in a generation, proving that people-powered campaigns can beat corporate money," Chakrabarti’s campaign site states.   

He played a leading role in creating the ambitious environmental-economic legislative package known as the Green New Deal. 

"I wrote and launched the Green New Deal, bringing climate policy to the center of the national conversation," Chakrabarti wrote on his website.  

He’s also behind the economic policy think tank New Consensus, which seeks to create policies to finding solutions to problems including climate change, racial and rural wealth gaps, and economic stagnation. 

Chakrabarti said his plan is to "Make San Francisco livable. Rebuild the American Dream. Save our democracy."

Cost of living

Dig deeper:

He’s running on a campaign that seeks to lower the cost of living, through efforts like cutting energy bills, and establishing tuition-free universities and trade schools in California.

Like the other top candidates representing a diverse city where affordable housing is an ongoing and pressing issue, he said he wants to build millions of new homes and also create policies to prevent the displacement of residents.

"In Congress, I'll fight for legislation that expands rental assistance programs for low-income renters at risk of eviction, introduces federal support for community land trusts that protect existing affordable housing, increases access to housing vouchers, and provide federal support for tenants unions," his website states. 

Public transportation

He wants to expand public transportation and build an equitable economy by addressing issues, including artificial intelligence. 

Chakrabarti said he would also push to raise taxes on the wealthy and promised to fight for policies including the Ultra Millionaire Tax Act. 

What they're saying:

‘Progressive platform’

"I am running on an ambitious, progressive platform to fix the nation's budget and invest heavily in programs that support working families — from universal childcare to Medicare for All to more affordable housing. The only way that any of this will be possible is if we fix our broken tax system and make the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share," he wrote on his site. 

Chakrabarti said a big reason for joining the race was the disappointment he felt with how the 2024 presidential election was handled, and he pointed to the democratic leadership, specifically the longtime congresswoman and central figure of the party establishment, whom he's hoping to replace.   

"She gave an interview where he asked her point-blank, ‘what did Democrats do wrong,’ and her answer was basically nothing. Democrats don’t need to change," said Chakrabarti. "I really disagree with that."

At the April 1 debate, he said the current political landscape must be changed.   

"There are insurgent candidates running all over the country challenging the establishment, and they're winning. And, right now we have a chance to change the system," the candidate said. 

Chakrabarti also said he will not play the Congressional seniority game but would emulate his mentor, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "When A.O.C. first went into Congress, she built a base of power outside Congress and then leveraged that inside Congress and the effect of that was she got everything she wanted," he said. 

The backstory:

The 40-year-old moved to San Francisco in 2009, after graduating from Harvard University.

He was born in Fort Worth, Texas. His parents are immigrants from India. 

Marie Hurabiell

Other notable candidates include Democrat Marie Hurabiell.

The lawyer, entrepreneur and community activist describes herself as a multi-generational San Franciscan and a common-sense Democrat.

The former Republican left the private sector in 2020 to establish the non-profit ConnectedSF, "a citywide organization focused on pragmatic solutions, accountability, and results," according to her campaign website. 

Hurabiell said in recent years, she’s played a key role in the political shift in the city, with actions including helping with the recall of Chesa Boudin from the district attorney’s office. 

She said she was an early and outspoken backer of Daniel Lurie's mayoral campaign, "backing law and order leadership before it was politically popular," according to her website. 

Hurabiell was also invited to the April 1 debate, where she highlighted why she joined the race. 

What they're saying:

"I'm not an elected official. I have been doing this because I care about this city. Six-and-a-half years, I have been on the ground floor of every major positive movement in this city," she said. 

"There's a couple things I want to attack early on. Affordability is one of them, and public safety is the other, bringing back dollars from Washington D.C. to hire more police to enhance our public safety," said Hurabiell. 

The backstory:

In 2018, she was appointed by the Trump administration in 2018 to the Presidio Trust Board of Directors.

The 55-year-old San Francisco native attended Georgetown University for undergrad and received her juris doctor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. 

Republican candidate David Ganezer

Republican candidate David Ganezer is a newspaper publisher for a local paper. He founded the free weekly publication, the Santa Monica Observer. 

In the democratic stronghold that is San Francisco, it's unlikely a Republican would replace Pelosi, but given the top-two candidates open primary system, if the democratic votes get heavily split, there would be a scenario where a Republican could slip into the November general election.   

Full list of candidates:

• John "Gus" Buffler – Democratic – Rocket Scientist
• Saikat Chakrabarti – Democratic – Economic Policy Director
• Connie Chan – Democratic – San Francisco Supervisor
• Keith Freedman – Democratic – Small Business Owner
• Omed Hamid – Democratic – Technology Advocate
• Gregory M Haynes – Democratic – Civil Rights Advocate
• Marie Hurabiell – Democratic – Attorney/Reform Advocate
• Scott Wiener – Democratic – State Senator
• David Ganezer – Republican – Local Newspaper Publisher
• Jingchao Xiong – Republican – Social Management Scientist
• Nathan Deer – No Party Preference – Homeowners Association Treasurer

Pelosi's storied career 

Big picture view:

Pelosi first came to Congress on June 2, 1987, after winning a special election. 

Her storied congressional career will end on Jan. 3, 2027. It’s a career marked with 19 re-elections to the House of Representatives and many firsts. 

In 2003, she became House Minority Leader, making history as the first woman to lead a major party in Congress. 

She made history again as the first woman Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011, a role she served for a second tenure from 2019 to 2023. 

The 86-year-old has been described as a legislative powerhouse and a staunch leader who championed progressive polices and coalesced her party through disciplined unity. 

She's been credited for her role in passing landmark legislation, including the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act, both in 2010, and the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan in 2021. 

Last November, Pelosi announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2026 midterms.

At the time of this publication, the congresswoman had not officially endorsed a candidate to fill her seat.

In all, there are 11 official candidates vying to represent California’s 11th District.