Tech millionaires, stock trading, and billionaire-backed super PACs. Ahead of June’s Democratic primary, San Francisco is preparing to usher in a post-Nancy Pelosi era—but not without its own drama.
The race to fill California’s 11th District is a “knife fight in a phone booth,” a spokesperson for state Sen. Scott Wiener told Daily Kos.
The race’s top candidates—Wiener, political adviser Saikat Chakrabarti, and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan—share very similar platforms, but when it comes to where they get their money, that’s where daggers come out.
During a Wednesday candidate forum at Mission Bay Conference Center, Chan accused Wiener of being “bankrolled by the billionaires” and claimed that Chakrabarti, a former founding engineer of the payment platform Stripe, “is only known” across the Bay because he “bought all of the digital ads on your airways.” Chakrabarti and Wiener are wielding those lines of attack on each other, as well.
Nevertheless, throughout the debate, the candidates often nodded in agreement when the others spoke. There were echoes of similar sentiments involving abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reversing President Donald Trump’s federal funding cuts, and holding those in power accountable amid allegations of sexual abuse.
But when the very San Francisco topic of banning stock trading surfaced, drama emerged.
“[Banning stock trading] should have happened a long time ago. It’s embarrassing on so many levels, it’s harmful, and it upends public confidence,” Wiener said on stage. And in a jab seemingly directed at Chakrabarti, he added, “I also think the candidates should disclose their stock trades so people can get a glimpse into what candidates are doing. I call for all candidates in this race to disclose the last 10 years worth of stock trades.”
Wealthy, stock-trading politicians aren’t new to San Francisco. As a matter of fact, Pelosi made significant money off of stock trades during her time in Congress, and her resistance to banning such trading among members of Congress has often caught flak.
In response to Wiener’s stock-trading jab, Tiffany Bradley, Chakrabarti’s campaign spokesperson, told Daily Kos via text message Thursday that this accusation is off base.
“Saikat does not own any publicly tradable individual stocks,” Bradley told us. “The reason he has been calling for a ban on congressional stock trading and has pledged to put his own assets in a blind trust when in Congress is because of the conflict of interest that arises from using insider knowledge to trade stocks. The real problem is people in public office enriching themselves off insider knowledge and selling their votes in exchange for campaign contributions.”
Bradley sought to turn the tables on Wiener, claiming that he has reportedly accepted campaign contributions from “over 400 corporations and corporate PACs during his time in public office.”
Out of the gate, Wiener did garner financial backing from tech giants and crypto billionaires. The support from Chris Larsen, the billionaire CEO of tech company Ripple who helps fund the super PAC Abundant Future, has especially caught attention from his competitors. Larsen previously donated to Trump’s inauguration.
In the spirit of good drama, Abundant Future used some of their buying power to even send out mailers attacking Chakrabarti over his ties to Maryland, where he owned a home.
With the June 2 primary quickly approaching, public polls have generally shown Wiener leading, though none of the candidates have earned possibly the most valuable thing in the race: Pelosi’s endorsement. That said, the former House speaker was spotted attending a fundraising event for Chan, who is polling third in most recent surveys.
As the legendary lawmaker bids adieu to office, an endorsement might be a strong card for her to play. After all, these candidates—as dramatic as their campaigns might be—stand by similar messages. But when Daily Kos reached out to Pelosi’s team for comment, they referred us to a November 2025 statement in which she said she had no intention of endorsing a candidate.
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