By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement on Thursday that she will not run for reelection in 2026 has set off a flurry of speculation about who will succeed her.
Two Democratic candidates already have their hats in the ring: Jewish and gay State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Hindu political activist Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Wiener immediately gained the endorsement of California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who previously had served with Wiener in the California Legislature. Bonta was elected from Oakland to the state Assembly in 2012 and served there until March 24, 2021 after he was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to succeed Xavier Becerra, who became Secretary of Health and Human Services on the administration of Joe Biden. Wiener was elected in 2016 to the State Senate and is there still.
There was prompt speculation that the field to succeed Pelosi might soon broaden, with the potential candidates most prominently mentioned being Attorney Christine Pelosi, daughter of the former House Speaker; and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan.
Wiener is co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus which pushed successfully for millions of dollars to upgrade security at imperiled houses of worship and religious organizations, including those in the Jewish community.
He also was part of a coalition that successfully banned antisemitic content from state-approved ethnic studies programs.
Last month, the caucus won unanimous legislative approval, albeit with some abstentions, for AB 715 which was drafted to prevent antisemitism in K-12 schools. The measure, which drew opposition for the California Teachers Association and the Council for American-Islamic Relations among others, is now the subject of litigation.
Chakrabati in 2015 directed computer-assisted volunteer organizing for the highly-critical-of-Israel Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (Ind-Vermont) campaign to be U.S. President. In 2016, Chakrabati headed an effort to recruit progressive first-time candidates for Congress, an effort that saw Ocasio-Cortez mount a successful campaign for a House seat from New York.
Chakrabati resigned in 2019 as Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff to run New Consensus for the Green New Deal.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.