A high-profile primary challenge is taking shape in California’s 12th Congressional District as Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), prepares to run against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2026. The race is expected to highlight divisions within the Democratic Party as progressive activists continue to push for new leadership.
Chakrabarti, a key strategist behind Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory over longtime Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), is positioning himself as a challenger to Pelosi from the left. He has begun meeting with San Francisco voters and organizing grassroots efforts to gain traction for his campaign.
“I’m going to find every way I can to talk to everybody that I possibly can in San Francisco and get my message to them directly,” Chakrabarti said.
Pelosi, who has held the seat since winning a 1987 special election, has remained a dominant figure in the Democratic Party, serving twice as House Speaker. While she has faced criticism from progressive factions in recent years, she has consistently won reelection with large margins, rarely receiving less than 70% of the vote.
Nancy Pelosi is reportedly plotting against AOC in her bid to become the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s top Democrat.
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Chakrabarti, who left Ocasio-Cortez’s office in 2019 and later worked in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, is expected to leverage his network and resources to mount a competitive campaign. He argues that Pelosi’s leadership has not adequately addressed the economic concerns of San Francisco residents, particularly rising housing costs and the cost of living.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her time in Congress, but I just think we’re in a different era now,” Chakrabarti told CBS News.
San Francisco remains one of the most expensive cities in the country, with one in 10 residents living in poverty. According to SF Gate, a single person making under $105,000 per year is considered low-income in the city. Chakrabarti contends that Democratic leadership has not responded effectively to these challenges.
“I’m not sure she realizes the level to which the average person—or even most people in this country and in San Francisco—are really feeling the squeeze of just how expensive these big essentials have gotten,” he said.
While Pelosi has yet to comment on the challenge, the race is expected to test the strength of the Democratic establishment against the progressive wing of the party. Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory demonstrated that long-serving incumbents could be vulnerable to well-organized, progressive campaigns, a precedent that Chakrabarti hopes to build upon.
“If that could happen then, in that lower change environment, what could happen right now?” he said, referring to the political climate in 2026.
Pelosi has long been a target of criticism from the progressive left, with some activists arguing that her approach to governance has been too cautious. Chakrabarti believes his campaign will give voters an opportunity to move in a different direction.
“To really rebuild this party, we need a whole new generation of leaders who are committed to this kind of a vision of really going out there and first admitting that there’s a problem, which I think the party often doesn’t admit at all,” he said.
The primary contest is likely to draw national attention, as it will be seen as a broader referendum on the direction of the Democratic Party.
