After Pelosi, Young SF Voters Want Change. 2 Progressives Are Competing to Offer It

Chakrabarti has little political footprint in the city. But his message, which has inundated social media feeds in recent months, is resonating with many young people eager to seize 2026 and Pelosi’s impending retirement as an opportunity to challenge corporate-backed Democrats.

Pelosi has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, and the race to become the liberal city’s next Congress member has a likely frontrunner: state Sen. Scott Wiener, a moderate Democrat polling at roughly 40% of likely voters.

But below him, two progressive candidates are locked in a tight contest for the second spot in November: Chakrabarti and Supervisor Connie Chan, polling at 18% and 17% respectively, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle poll.

Pelosi, the former Democratic speaker of the House, widely regarded as one of the most powerful figures in Washington, has served longer than many of her younger constituents have been alive. While young voters said they believe she fought for important issues like during the HIV/AIDS crisis, they also told KQED that the current Democratic establishment is not moving the needle on issues such as wealth disparity, climate and student debt.

“We have to completely change the direction and leadership of the Democratic Party,” Chakrabarti said to the cheering crowd. “We need a Democratic Party that will fight to create a society that works for all, not just the richest few.”

That theme, that the Democratic establishment is out of touch with the everyday needs and issues of working-class people, has permeated San Francisco’s congressional race and elections beyond.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won a historic election last year, has become a darling of progressives with his populist platform and ability to connect with young voters. At Chakrabarti’s event, scattered with social media influencers like Hasan Piker, young voters said they want something similar.

“If we look at what happened in New York with Mayor Mamdani, he spoke to actual real-life issues that people are really dealing with on a daily basis, and he used that as sort of his core,” said Shagun Aulakh, an undecided voter who went to Chakrabarti’s event. “I don’t think that’s what Pelosi and the establishment Democrats have historically done. They speak more to their corporate base, their donor base.”

Chakrabarti, 40, isn’t the only young (ish) progressive in the race. He faces Chan, who came up in San Francisco politics and has amassed labor support and the attention of young working people.

Chan and Chakrabarti have similarly progressive platforms, but what sets them apart most distinctly is their different backgrounds and, critically, in the final weeks leading up to the June 2 primary election, how they are trying to win over progressive voters. Chan is also hoping a recent endorsement from Pelosi herself will draw more supporters.

Born in Hong Kong, Chan, 47, moved to San Francisco’s Chinatown in her youth and has leaned into her experience as an immigrant, mother and longtime civil servant. That background, along with her platform focused on producing affordable housing for middle and low-income residents and lowering healthcare costs, has appealed to young voters like Celeste Martinez-Hernandez, who recently graduated from San Francisco State University.

“I do want someone who’s different. I want a policymaker who actually does implement real change,” she said. “Connie is a working mom; she’s a regular person. I don’t think that I can relate to a bunch of millionaires who haven’t struggled with buying groceries or paying their bills.”

Chakrabarti is a centimillionaire and has poured nearly $10 million from his own wealth, built during his career as an engineer at the digital payment processing company Stripe, into his campaign. It’s allowed him to roll out an aggressive advertising strategy and quickly become known in the city.

“Really, the strategy is to get in front of as many screens as possible,” said Mustafa Ali Khan, 24, who is leading Chakrabarti’s digital campaign strategy. “Beyond the screens, get in front of as many doors as possible, too, because we know when people hear the message that we’re running on, they go our way.”

Chakrabarti previously worked as chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Neither has endorsed Chakrabarti for Congress. But he’s nabbed support from other national progressive figures like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Chan has meanwhile run a more modest social media campaign, largely due to the fact that she has raised a fraction of what her top competitors have raked in.

“I think what really resonates about Connie is that she’s been working for over 20 years in public services, and it’s that work that put her here, not just the flashy substance,” said Vivian Redmond, 24, who is leading Chan’s social media strategy. “She’s going to bring the entire San Francisco progressive movement to Washington, D.C., and a lot of young progressives and young people in general are really, really excited about that.”

Wiener has garnered support from big tech donors, real estate and the city’s more moderate politicians, and that’s steered some of the city’s most progressive young voters away.

“Scott Wiener, he’s built housing, but it hasn’t really been for the working people, and he’s backed by all these multimillionaires,” said Kai Leynes, a 21-year-old voter who grew up in the Excelsior.

Still, Wiener is leaning into many of the same change-themed narratives as his opponents.

“We do need to change the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party needs to be focused like a laser on policies around housing, healthcare, supporting families that make people’s lives better and more affordable,” he said at a recent campaign party that doubled as a 56th birthday party. “We need the intensity to go up, like, 15 levels.”

Young Democrats in San Francisco, like Dane Willette, 29, said they’re impressed with Wiener’s personal track record on housing legislation.

“The thing that really draws me toward Wiener is that he’s still progressive, still standing up and doing the right thing, but he’s incredibly pragmatic,” said Willette, who is part of San Francisco’s chapter of Yes In My Backyard or YIMBY, a pro-housing development group. “He’s managed to do all these big, impactful bills. I’m just hoping he’s going to do the same thing at the national level.”

Each of the candidates has been using digital advertising to promote messages appealing to young voters around housing affordability, immigration and climate change.

On Chakrabarti’s social ads, viewers get flashy, fast-paced videos with the candidate speaking directly to the camera about how he wants to change Democratic leadership to fight on those issues. Chan’s more often shows the supervisor out in the community, interacting with residents and shopkeepers and promoting her work on the local level. Wiener’s ads emphasize his housing legislation bona fides, with some lightheartedly poking fun at the candidate’s towering 6-foot-7-inch stature with a giraffe.

From a strategy angle, political analysts say it makes sense if you’re trying to reach young people where they get their information. Adults under 30 are more likely than any other age group to get their news on social media, according to a 2025 Pew Research poll, with Instagram and TikTok being the most popular sites for people ages 18 to 29.

“You see all the candidates trying to make themselves friendly in an Instagrammable way and trying to create content that will attract eyeballs. This is politics right now,” said Eric Jaye, a veteran political consultant in San Francisco. “There tends to be a greater focus on their own lives and experiences, sometimes to the detriment of regular voters who are not on Instagram or are less impressed by candidates turning themselves into reality stars online.”

But there’s an important caveat that may show up clearly on Election Day: young voters make up a relatively small portion of the electorate in San Francisco. There are approximately two voters over the age of 65 in San Francisco for every voter under 34, according to Jaye.

Still, the candidates all said they don’t take young voters for granted in this election, and noted that older voters are online plenty these days, too.

The election will be a marker of generational change, no matter the outcome. Whoever replaces Pelosi will provide a new voice for San Francisco in Congress in nearly four decades. And they’ll have big shoes to fill.

“Nancy Pelosi has always been my representative, since I was born,” Redmond said. “So it’s a very exciting time to shape what’s next.”