Saikat Chakrabarti
Saikat Chakrabarti (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 11th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.[source]
Chakrabarti completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Saikat Chakrabarti was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 2007. His career experience includes being a co-founder of New Consensus and Justice Democrats, chief of staff for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, organizing technology for Bernie Sanders’ campaign, and second engineer at Stripe.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the June 2 top-two primary for California's 11th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Nine Democrats and one Republican are running in the top-two primary for California's 11th Congressional District on June 2, 2026. As of March 2026, Saikat Chakrabarti (D), Connie Chan (D), and Scott Wiener (D) led in fundraising, endorsements, and local media attention.[2][3]
Incumbent Nancy Pelosi (D) is not running for re-election. Mission Local's Joe Eskenazi said: "Nobody still in the business has run a real San Francisco congressional race. Pelosi has held this seat since 1987. There hasn’t been a serious and competitive race for two generations."[4] As of March 2026, Pelosi had not endorsed any of the candidates.
Chakrabarti is a former software engineer and staff member for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D). Chakrabarti co-founded Justice Democrats after the 2016 presidential election.[5] In his Candidate Connection survey, Chakrabarti said he was running because "San Franciscans are being crushed by the cost of living and betrayed by leaders who are too comfortable in power to fight for us."[6] Eskenazi said, "Chakrabarti’s lane is narrow...[he is] in the unusual position of appealing to San Francisco voters who gravitate to national left-wing politics without yet having the backing of San Francisco voters who gravitate to San Francisco left-wing politics."[4] Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) endorsed Chakrabarti.[7]
Chan is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Before her election in 2020, Chan worked in the city government, including as a staffer for then-District Attorney Kamala Harris.[8] Chan says she is running "for all the people who feel like they’re getting priced out of their own city. I’m running for those who are under attack by the Trump Administration."[9] Eskenazi said Chan's potential base of support includes "Asian/Chinese voters, the Westside and then an assortment of Great Highway refuseniks, disgruntled neighborhood dwellers and others who are chafing against what used to be referred to as 'Downtown.'"[4] Sen. Adam Schiff (D) endorsed Chan.[10]
Wiener is a member of the California Senate. Before his election to the Senate in 2016, Wiener served for five years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.[11] Wiener says he is running "to defend San Francisco, our values, our people, and the Constitution of the United States with everything I have."[12] Eskenazi said Wiener "has a stronghold in District 8, the neighborhood that consistently has the highest voter turnout, and is also the only significant moderate or LGBTQ candidate in the race. It is hard to conceive of him not finishing first in the primary and nigh-impossible to conceive of him not finishing in the all-important top-two."[4] California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) endorsed Wiener.[13]
Also running in the primary are Cole Bettles (D), Omed Hamid (D), Darren Helton (D), Marie Hurabiell (D), Daniel Wheeler (D), Jingchao Xiong (D), and David Ganezer (R).
In a top-two primary, all candidates running for a given office appear on the same primary ballot. The top two finishers—regardless of party affiliation—advance to the general election. The Democratic Party of California endorsed Wiener.[14] As of March 2026, the Republican Party of California had not endorsed any candidate.[15]
As of March 2026, major election forecasters rated the general election Safe/Solid Democratic. In 2024, Pelosi defeated Bruce Lou (R) 81%–19%.
Elections
2026
See also: California's 11th Congressional District election, 2026
California's 11th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 11
The following candidates are running in the primary for U.S. House California District 11 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Cole Bettles (D) | ||
 | Saikat Chakrabarti (D)  | |
 | Connie Chan (D) | |
 | Nathan Deer (No party preference) | |
| David Ganezer (R) | ||
 | Omed Hamid (D) | |
 | Darren Helton (D) | |
 | Marie Hurabiell (D) | |
| Daniel Wheeler (D) | ||
 | Scott Wiener (D) | |
 | Jingchao Xiong (D) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nancy Pelosi (D)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Candidate spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Bettles | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Saikat Chakrabarti | Democratic Party | $1,769,248 | $1,656,981 | $112,266 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Connie Chan | Democratic Party | $174,385 | $54,854 | $119,531 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Omed Hamid | Democratic Party | $34,968 | $0 | $34,968 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Darren Helton | Democratic Party | $5,247 | $5,247 | $0 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Marie Hurabiell | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Daniel Wheeler | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Scott Wiener | Democratic Party | $2,785,939 | $511,574 | $2,274,365 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Jingchao Xiong | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| David Ganezer | Republican Party | $59 | $16 | $43 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Nathan Deer | No party preference | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[16][17][18]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Endorsements
Chakrabarti received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Frmr. U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D)
- Abolish ICE: join the pledge! (Sway viewpoint group by Conscious Lee)
- Abolish ICE: join the pledge! (Sway viewpoint group by Monte Mader)
- Abolish ICE: join the pledge! (Sway viewpoint group by Qasim Rashid)
- Abolish ICE: join the pledge! (Sway viewpoint group by Rachel Cohen)
- No Dem Left Behind
- Progressive Victory
- Track AIPAC
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Saikat Chakrabarti completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Chakrabarti's responses.
| Collapse all
I left tech because I couldn’t ignore the deeper crisis. I wanted to use my skills to fight for an economy and a democracy that actually work for ordinary people. Over the past decade I’ve helped launch some of the biggest progressive campaigns in America: I built organizing tools for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign, co-founded Justice Democrats, recruited and ran campaigns for candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and served as her first Chief of Staff where I helped launch the Green New Deal. After leaving Washington, I started the think tank New Consensus to develop detailed plans for how we can rebuild American industry, create millions of high-wage jobs, and tackle the climate crisis.
Now I’m running for Congress because San Franciscans are being crushed by the cost of living and betrayed by leaders who are too comfortable in power to fight for us. We need bold action, and I know how to make it happen.- San Franciscans, and Americans everywhere, are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Working families, young people, and seniors alike are being priced out of the basics: healthcare, housing, education, and childcare. This didn’t happen by accident; it’s the result of decades of policy that put corporate profits ahead of people. In Congress, I’ll fight for Medicare for All, a national housing plan that builds millions of affordable homes, tuition-free public college, and universal childcare so working families can finally breathe again.
- Donald Trump is leading an authoritarian coup, and too many Democrats in Washington are either passive or paralyzed in the face of it. My first priority will be protecting San Franciscans from Trump’s attacks and helping lead a collective resistance. That means building the strongest constituent services program in the country, defending the integrity of our elections, and using my position to pull together institutions like law firms, universities, and communities to fight back against Trump’s assault on democracy.
- We need a modern-day New Deal to rebuild the middle class and stop the march of authoritarianism. Over the past 50 years, millions of good jobs have been shipped overseas and wages for the bottom 50% of American workers have stagnated while costs keep rising. This was not an accident. It was the direct result of decades of economic policy that prioritized short-term corporate earnings and sold out the middle class. I’ll fight for a national mobilization like we had during WWII to build clean industries, create millions of high-paying jobs, and prove that democracy can deliver prosperity for everyone.
But fixing politics takes more than good intentions. It takes systemic reform. That’s why I’ll fight to ban congressional stock trading, overturn Citizens United, end the revolving door with lobbying, and pass publicly financed elections. We have to make sure our democracy serves the people, not the billionaires and corporate lobbyists.
I bring the best of both worlds: I know how the system works, I’ve proven I can deliver big ideas like the Green New Deal, and I’ll never cave to the establishment. My commitment is to the people of San Francisco always.
To save democracy, we have to prove it can deliver prosperity for everyone. That means Medicare for All, building millions of affordable homes, and a national mission to create millions of high-wage clean jobs. If we do that, we can defeat authoritarianism for good. If we don’t, Trump and the oligarchs will keep winning.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House California District 11 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 3, 2025
- ↑ San Francisco Examiner, "Word on the Street: A 'once-in-a-generation' race for SF voters," January 8, 2026
- ↑ Mission Local, "And then there were three: The race to succeed Nancy Pelosi takes shape," November 24, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMLJan8 - ↑ Saikat Chakrabarti campaign website, "About me," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ Candidate Connection survey submitted to Ballotpedia on November 14, 2025.
- ↑ Saikat Chakrabarti campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 5, 2026
- ↑ Connie Chan campaign website, "Meet Connie," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ Connie Chan campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ Instagram, "Connie Chan on March 4, 2026," accessed March 5, 2026
- ↑ Scott Wiener campaign website, "Meet Scott," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ Scott Wiener campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ Scott Wiener campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed March 5, 2026
- ↑ Democratic Party of California, "2026 Primary Election Endorsements," February 22, 2026
- ↑ Republican Party of California, "2026 Endorsements," accessed March 3, 2026
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
