San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener dominated early returns in the bitter showdown to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress, claiming victory in the primary contest.
Wiener won 43.4% of votes in the first batch of returns posted Tuesday night — with Pelosi’s pick Connie Chan and lefty tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti trailing behind at 28.5%% and 13.5%, respectively.
“The people of San Francisco sent a very clear message … San Franciscans are ready for bold forward looking leadership, for real results,” Wiener said at an election night party near the Castro neighborhood.
The top two vote getters will advance to the November general election, meaning Chan and Chakrabarti are vying to compete head-to-head with Wiener.
Wiener has represented San Francisco in the state Senate since 2016, and before that served on the city’s Board of Supervisors, racking up a loyal constituency for his work on housing, transit, and LGBTQ issues.
Nicknamed “The Giraffe” for his 6-foot-7 stature, Wiener is considered the godfather of the YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) movement that aims to speed up housing development.
The 56-year-old legislator reportedly infuriated Pelosi when he signaled plans to run for her seat before she had retired.
Pelosi, 86, is stepping down at the end of her current term after nearly 40 years in Congress.
Pelosi officially endorsed Chan just days before the primary, even cutting an ad for progressive Chan, who represents residential neighborhoods on the city’s west side.
“At a time when fundamental freedoms and democratic values are under assault, we need a leader in Congress who is prepared to fight — forcefully and effectively,” Pelosi said in May.
She dismissed Wiener’s reputation as a legislative wonk and took shots at Chakrabarti, a 40-year-old Harvard grad who spend $10 million of his own money on the race.
“I’ve never seen him in our community. I don’t have any idea who he is,” Pelosi said in a withering radio interview.
Former Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez aide Chakrabarti suffered humiliation when the Bronx Dem darling declined to endorse him in the San Francisco congressional race.
While each of the leading Dems vocally oppose President Donald Trump’s administration, local issues will likely come to the fore in the November general election.
One-bedroom rents surged past $4,000 per month on average amid an AI boom and a UC Berkeley study claimed in March that it would take “124 years” to fix San Francisco’s housing crisis.
The Republican-led Congress has threatened San Francisco over its sanctuary city policy that generally bars local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration officers.
Letters sent Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee demanded records from police and sheriff’s departments in San Francisco and San Diego as President Donald Trump’s second administration escalates its crackdown on deep-blue sanctuary cities.
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