Twenty Terms in Congress is Enough: Saikat Chakrabarti Launches Bid to Unseat Nancy Pelosi in 2026 Primary

NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

San Francisco, CA, July 30, 2025: Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez and co‑founder of the progressive group Justice Democrats, has announced his candidacy for California’s 11th Congressional District, challenging longtime incumbent and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the 2026 Democratic primary.

Chakrabarti, 39, is best known for his role in shaping Ocasio‑Cortez’s 2018 insurgent campaign and for helping craft the Green New Deal framework. A Harvard‑educated computer scientist, he previously worked in the tech industry at companies including Stripe before moving into political organizing with Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign and later Justice Democrats.

In his campaign announcement earlier this year, Chakrabarti framed his bid as a generational and ideological challenge, saying “twenty terms in Congress is enough” and calling for bolder action on economic and climate issues. He has proposed a sweeping policy vision dubbed “Mission for America,” positioned as a successor to the Green New Deal.

Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987, has filed the required paperwork to raise campaign funds for 2026 but has not formally announced whether she will seek another term. Her decision is expected to shape the dynamics of the race; if she steps aside, potential successors such as State Senator Scott Wiener or her daughter Christine Pelosi could enter the contest.

California’s 11th District, covering most of San Francisco, is a heavily Democratic seat, meaning the primary is likely to determine the winner in the November 2026 general election. The Cook Political Report rates the district as strongly Democratic, making any Republican challenge unlikely to be competitive.

Chakrabarti’s campaign highlights ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party between progressive activists seeking new leadership and the party’s longtime establishment figures.

Pelosi, 85, has not commented publicly on Chakrabarti’s challenge. In past interviews, she has maintained that Democrats “don’t need to change” their core approach in the post‑Trump era, while critics like Chakrabarti argue that a new generation must step up to confront climate change and inequality.

The primary election is scheduled for March 2026, with the general election following on November 3, 2026.

Cover images courtesy: Saikat/Pelosi/Wikimedia. Designed using AI.