San Francisco voters to decide between Democrats Connie Chan, Scott Wiener in race to succeed Nancy Pelosi
By Carlos E. Castañeda
Voters will choose between two Democrats in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker who is retiring after nearly four decades in Congress. The race to succeed Pelosi in Congress has emerged as a divisive contest, pitting a longtime state legislator against a San Francisco supervisor who received Pelosi’s endorsement.
Pelosi, 86, is retiring after representing San Francisco in Congress since 1987, becoming one of the most powerful Democratic lawmakers and becoming the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.
State Sen. Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan are competing to represent California’s 11th Congressional District, which is contained entirely within San Francisco and covers most of the city’s neighborhoods. Both have broadly progressive platforms that include housing affordability, higher taxes on the wealthy, health care and child care.
On housing, Wiener wants to accelerate construction and reduce regulatory barriers, while Chan emphasizes publicly subsidized housing, rental assistance and tenant protections. Both support stronger renter protections and Medicare for All.
With San Francisco at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, the candidates differ on how to regulate the industry’s infrastructure demands. Chan supports a nationwide moratorium on new data centers until stronger protections are in place for electricity customers, grid reliability and the environment. Wiener opposes a blanket moratorium, arguing it could push development overseas and harm San Francisco jobs. He favors enforceable AI safety rules, transparency requirements and energy and water protections.
Both candidates support higher taxes on great wealth, but they split over San Francisco’s Proposition D, a June ballot measure that would have increased business taxes based on the ratio between top executive compensation and median employee pay. Wiener opposed the measure, warning it could undermine the city’s economic recovery; Chan supported it as a way to raise revenue from large corporations for public services. Voters ultimately rejected it with 52.8% of the vote versus 47.1%
Both candidates have described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and criticized the destruction of Palestinian communities. Chan has called for blocking all U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. Wiener opposes U.S. funding for Israel’s military and sales of offensive weapons, but supports Israel having access to defensive systems at its own expense. Wiener initially declined to characterize Israel’s actions as genocide during a January candidate forum, then adopted the term days later, drawing criticism from some Jewish and pro-Israel groups.
Both candidates have support from prominent Democratic figures, but their coalitions differ. Chan has been endorsed by Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Ro Khanna and former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. Wiener’s endorsers include the California Democratic Party, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, Rep. Sam Liccardo, a former San Jose mayor, and former Rep. Katie Porter.
Their organizational backing also reflects different political alliances. Wiener has endorsements from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Equality California, Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, and San Francisco YIMBY. Chan has support from the California Federation of Labor Unions, SEIU California, the California Teachers Association and the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club.
