Holy shit. This is the first open congressional race in our political lives (and for some of us, our ACTUAL ENTIRE LIVES). Sending a capable progressive to Washington will ensure that SF gets our share of federal funds, and install another sane activist to help fight the good fight for the whole country. 

There are three leading candidates in this top-two primary: State Senator Scott Wiener, New Kid on the Block Saikat Chakrabarti, and District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan. 

We are proud to endorse Connie Chan for Congress! Connie immigrated with her family to SF’s Chinatown as a child, cut her teeth as a community organizer, and then worked her way up in politics, maintaining her commitment to social justice the whole way. As District 1 Supervisor, she’s been a champion for renters, small businesses, seniors, and working families in the Richmond. As a smart and thorough Budget Chair, Connie has prioritized vital city services amidst the call to slash spending, and found money to stave off the worst local impacts of Trump’s cuts to health care and food benefits. She has launched progressive initiatives that can be a model for the country: overseeing free City College, funding public transportation and affordable housing, defending tenants and immigrants, protecting the social safety net, and taxing the goddamn billionaires (see Prop D (#PropD)).

Connie’s got a long list of endorsements, especially from progressive labor unions, who are key allies in the coalition to bring power to working families, and who will help her to win. While Connie’s first order of business would be working with other progressive reps to block Trump’s harmful cuts and evil policies, it’s her vision for what government can do for everyday people that we're really excited about.

Scott Wiener is terrible (see every (https://www.theleaguesf.org/Nov_2014#Wiener) voter (https://www.theleaguesf.org/june_2016#Wiener) guide (https://www.theleaguesf.org/march_2020#Wiener) ever (https://www.theleaguesf.org/nov_2020_real#Wiener)). 

Saikat Chakrabarti is new to San Francisco politics, but he worked on Bernie’s campaign in 2016 and ran Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign in 2018, before doing a brief stint as her Chief of Staff in DC. (AOC has rather pointedly not endorsed him in this race.) Before entering politics, Saikat made boatloads of money in tech, and currently runs a national progressive think tank. As a candidate, his focus is on strengthening the national Democratic Party to stand up to Trump, and supporting reforms that will clean up dirty politics in Washington. We are 100% on board with all  that, but Saikat doesn’t have much to say about San Francisco’s specific needs—and he doesn’t have specific ties to communities here that will keep him accountable if elected (and actually, we’re concerned about the ways he has shown up in local politics—mainly through donations to defeat progressives (https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/phoenix-review/blog/the-mystery-of-saikat-chakrabarti) in recent Supervisor races). It kinda sounds like he could be running this same campaign anywhere: nice ideology, no grassroots activism, just a lot of money to hire canvassers and buy ads. 

But it’s unclear that Saikat’s millions will buy him a victory in the primary, and it’s even less clear that he would win in November without the support of the labor unions and community groups that are backing Chan (and may not throw down for a wealthy tech bro). If Saikat ends up being on the ballot in November we’ll reassess. But for now, It’s a no-brainer: Connie Chan is the only candidate who can beat Scott Wiener* in November and bring San Francisco values to Congress. Let’s send Connie Chan to DC!

Uh oh! According to a news report (https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/30/lurie-s-top-campaign-consultant-departs-political-group-growsf/), Chakrabarti's campaign has provided their paid canvassers with a script (https://assets.nationbuilder.com/theleaguesf/pages/458/attachments/original/1777735220/saikat-canvas-script.jpeg?1777735220) that implies that voters could rank vote both Saikat and Connie Chan to avoid a Wiener victory. This is misleading. The race for Congress is not ranked choice, and marking a #2 candidate will invalidate your vote.

Vote Connie Chan, and only Connie Chan, for Congress!

*Curious why Scott Wiener is terrible? Click through to read our previous (https://www.theleaguesf.org/Nov_2014#Wiener) voter (https://www.theleaguesf.org/june_2016#Wiener) guide (https://www.theleaguesf.org/march_2020#Wiener) writeups (https://www.theleaguesf.org/nov_2020_real#Wiener), but basically: he’s madly pro-cop, (https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/27/scott-wiener-sfpd-cops-union-nancy-pelosi/)  pro-developer, (https://sftu.org/2020/01/16/scott-wiener-takes-more-real-estate-money-than-any-other-politician-in-the-california-legislature/) pro-YIMBY (trickle-down housing (https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/scott-wiener-sf-housing-debates-family-zoning-plan/article_14b8ccb6-d38e-4c5f-8675-50837ae94118.html)) with a gloss of pro-LGBTQ pinkwashing (https://www.instagram.com/p/DAhFdORzC8Q/). Oh, and Weiner lost the California SEIU endorsement because he opposes Prop D, the Overpaid CEO tax (#PropD).

Source (https://www.theleaguesf.org/blog#CD11)

Why would we not support Shirley Weber? She’s experienced, a fierce defender of voting rights, and the rare state official whose integrity is not compromised by ambition. Last time she ran, we wrote about the way Weber stood up to Governor Newsom when he asked her to let him appear on the recall ballot as a Democrat despite missing a deadline—“Hey, Shirley, I know I’m late, but do me a favor and just put me down as a Democrat, OK?” She refused, and when Newsom sued her (https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/06/newsom-changes-own-recall/), Weber held her ground and the case was tossed out. Integrity in politics, we love to see it!

Given the current level of wackiness and racism around elections (cough cough, Chad Bianco, Voter ID laws, the reactionary Supreme Court) why wouldn’t we want a principled, effective, honest Black public servant with a dedication to accuracy and transparency running our election process? Her opponent, Orange County Republican Don Wagner, is a voter ID hawk who wants to stop sending mail-in ballots to all voters, so this vote really matters. We’ve endorsed Shirley Weber twice (June and November 2022) and are proud to endorse her again. 

Vote Shirley Weber for Secretary of State!

Source (https://www.theleaguesf.org/blog#SecState)

Jane Kim, the former S.F. supervisor and California director of the Working Families Party, is a force in city and state progressive politics. And though she admits she doesn’t have a background in the insurance industry, that’s actually a plus (https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/20/jane-kim-insurance-commissioner/): we believe California’s Insurance Commissioner needs to take on the big insurers, not cozy up to them. 

The state Insurance Commissioner regulates the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance market, approves premium rate increases, and regulates life, health, and workers’ comp insurance. Homeowners insurance is entwined with real estate and mortgage lending, and health insurance is entwined with, well, health. So Insurance Commissioner is a hugely important job, which is why it matters to have a commissioner who shares our values and prioritizes the public over profits. 

Insurers have been going wild in California, driving up the cost of living by canceling homeowners’ policies, abandoning whole areas of the state, increasing premiums to unimaginable highs, and denying claims. After the devastating fires in Los Angeles, voters say they’re fed up, and most of the candidates are at least giving lip service to reform.  Jane Kim is proposing to create a public insurer for natural disasters, much like the system in New Zealand (https://www.consorsegurosdigital.com/en/numero-21/sumario/contributions/new-zealands-natural-hazards-insurance-scheme-is-based-on-lessons-of-the-past/), and she promises to use the office to rein in the powerful industry and develop new, functional alternatives. Right on, Jane!

Vote Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner!

Source (https://www.theleaguesf.org/blog#InsuranceCommissioner)