State Sen. Wiener reportedly not waiting for Pelosi to retire, says he's running for Congress
Officers search state Sen. Wiener?s San Francisco home for bombs after death threat
Uniformed officers with bomb-sniffing dogs searched the San Francisco home of state Sen. Scott Wiener following a written death threat filled with hate language.
SAN FRANCISCO - State Sen. Scott Wiener will reportedly run for the Congressional seat currently held by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Will Wiener run?
The San Francisco Standard reported on Thursday that Wiener has told political allies that he plans to run in the 2026 race rather than letting Pelosi decide if she would continue to seek her position as the representative of the 11th congressional district – a seat she has held since 1987.
The Standard reports many in the know had expected Wiener to wait for Pelosi to make a decision in the coming weeks. Citing sources close to Wiener's camp, the news outlet said he is supposed to make a formal announcement some time next week.
Wiener had previously said he would only run for Congress if the former House speaker did not seek re-election. In 2023, he formed a committee to explore his possible candidacy for Pelosi's seat. Pelosi will be 86 when her current term ends.
Wiener, who is openly gay, has served in the California State Senate since 2016. He has represented the 11th district from San Francisco. Prior to that, he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors where he represented District 8, which includes the Castro neighborhood.
Other challengers
Last spring, an ex-Silicon Valley engineer who once served as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, emerged as a challenger to Pelosi's seat.
In either event, the political battle may be grueling for both Wiener and Saikat Chakrabarti, the former engineer, because Pelosi is one of the biggest names in American political history. She is a two-time Speaker of the House and the first woman to hold the position, making her a trailblazer.
When Chakrabarti announced he was challenging Pelosi, one political analyst told KTVU she would probably ‘outraise’ him regarding funds and perhaps even outwork him in some ways, because, "that's Nancy Pelosi."
With Wiener, that may not be the case, as he's garnered name recognition and rose through the political ranks of California's Democratic Party.
What they're saying:
A representative from State Sen. Wiener's office had no comment for this story.
We reached out to former Speaker Pelosi's office and they sent us the following statement:
"Speaker Pelosi is fully focused on her mission to win the Yes on 50 special election in California on November 4th. She urges all Californians to join in that mission on the path to taking back the House for the Democrats."
Chakrabarti's campaign issued a statement after this story was initially published. The statement read in part, "Scott Wiener has said over and over that he will never run a race against Nancy Pelosi, and I trust his word."
Editor's note: Statements from Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi's office and Sikat Chakrabarti's campaign have been added to this story.
