Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener is on track to win the June 2 primary in California's 11th Congressional District, the San Francisco seat long held by Nancy Pelosi, despite Pelosi declining to endorse him. With only 47 percent of ballots counted as of Wednesday morning, Wiener held the lead, while San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan trailed with 29 percent of the vote, KCRA reported.
Both Wiener and Chan advanced to the November general election. Former political staffer Saikat Chakrabarti, who drew 15 percent of the vote, also advanced, though the headline race now centers on the top two finishers heading into the fall.
The result is a pointed rebuke of Pelosi's influence in her own backyard. The former House speaker backed Chan and Chakrabarti, not Wiener, and still watched Wiener run away with the primary lead. For a figure who spent decades shaping San Francisco politics from Capitol Hill, that is a telling loss of leverage in the district she once dominated.
Pelosi's decision not to endorse Wiener for the seat she vacated was itself a story. She instead threw her weight behind two other Democrats, splitting her support between Chan and Chakrabarti. The strategy, whatever its intent, did not produce a frontrunner from her camp.
Chan's 29 percent placed her second. Chakrabarti's 15 percent left him well behind. Wiener, running without Pelosi's blessing, topped them both.
The former speaker has drawn attention in recent months for a series of combative public moments. She lashed out at a conservative reporter over questions about the January 6 National Guard response, a confrontation that underscored the defensive posture she has increasingly adopted on matters tied to her legacy.
Her endorsement of Chan was well known before the primary. Pelosi had publicly backed the San Francisco supervisor as her chosen successor, framing Chan as the candidate best positioned to carry forward her priorities. Voters, it appears, had other ideas.
The vote totals reported so far come with a significant caveat: only 47 percent of ballots had been counted at the time of the update. California's vote-counting process, with its heavy reliance on mail-in ballots, often stretches for days or weeks after Election Day. The margins could shift.
Still, Wiener's lead over Chan was substantial enough at the initial count to prompt news organizations to describe him as advancing. His exact vote percentage was not specified in the initial reporting, but his position atop the field was clear.
Wiener now heads into a November general election in one of the most reliably Democratic districts in the country. The real contest, as is often the case in San Francisco, played out in the primary itself. Whoever wins in November will represent a city that has not elected a Republican to Congress in decades.
California's 11th Congressional District is synonymous with Pelosi. She held the seat for decades, rising from San Francisco congresswoman to the most powerful Democrat in the House. Her departure left a vacuum that multiple ambitious Democrats rushed to fill.
Pelosi's broader political standing has been a subject of discussion within her own party. Her relationship with Joe Biden, strained after months of reported silence following Biden's 2024 exit, illustrated the fractures that have defined the Democratic establishment in recent years. Her ability to shape outcomes, once formidable, now faces open questions.
The primary results in her home district add to that picture. When the most prominent Democrat in San Francisco cannot deliver a primary win for her endorsed candidate, it says something about the limits of legacy endorsements in a party that increasingly rewards factional energy over institutional loyalty.
Wiener, a state senator, ran on his own record and his own base of support. He did not need Pelosi's imprimatur. That fact alone marks a shift.
Saikat Chakrabarti, described as a former political staffer, drew 15 percent of the vote and also advanced. His presence in the race added another layer to the intra-Democratic competition. Pelosi backed both Chakrabarti and Chan, effectively dividing her endorsement between two candidates rather than consolidating behind one.
Whether that split cost Chan votes is an open question. What is clear is that neither Pelosi-backed candidate outpaced Wiener.
Pelosi has remained a polarizing figure well beyond her time as speaker. She has been the subject of repeated public controversies that have kept her name in the headlines even as her formal power has diminished.
The general election will pit Wiener against Chan and potentially Chakrabarti in a contest that, in this district, functions as a formality for whichever Democrat consolidates the most support. The real battle lines were drawn in June.
For Wiener, the path forward is straightforward: hold his lead, expand his coalition, and claim a seat in Congress. For Chan, the challenge is steeper. She must close a gap that opened even with Pelosi's full backing.
The broader lesson is one that establishment Democrats keep learning the hard way. Endorsements from party elders carry less weight than they once did. Voters, even in the bluest districts in America, increasingly make their own calculations. Pelosi's name still commands attention. It just doesn't command outcomes the way it used to.
When a party leader can't carry her own district for her handpicked successor, the title is ceremonial. The power has moved on.
