CA-11: Still Not Giving a Formal Endorsement, Pelosi Offers Praise For Connie Chan
Maybe she's still miffed at Scott Wiener for announcing his candidacy for Congress last fall before she had formalized her retirement plans. Maybe she's trying to give a nod to the powerful unions in SF that have thrown their weight behind progressive Supervisor Connie Chan. Whatever the reason, Nancy Pelosi has stayed mum this primary season about who she wants to see take her seat in the House of Representatives.
One thing that's certain, however: It'll probably be a cold day in hell before she endorses Saikat Chakrabarti, given what we know about her first impressions of him as a congressional aide seven years ago.
Pelosi has been quietly backing Chan since last October, inviting her as the only city official to speak alongside her at a rally with local unions in support of Prop 50, and posing for pictures with her in the weeks before the retirement announcement. And, tellingly, Chan used a photo of her beside Pelosi in her first campaign ad, saying that she stood "on the shoulders of those who came before me and fought for the same values."
Pelosi took her time making her retirement plans public, opting to wait until after Election Day in order not to distract from the Prop 50 vote. And she's similarly slow-walking her endorsement, perhaps because she doesn't want to have to give more than one, or she may never give one at all, as her spokesperson has said she won't — and if Chan is her chosen successor, it is looking likelier that Chan will not make it past the primary, given recent poll numbers.
https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/still-not-offering-a-formal-endorsement-pelosi/