By Megan Robertson

For Saikat Chakrabarti, the key to winning Nancy Pelosi’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives lies here in the Sunset District.

Saikat (pronounced Shoy-kaht) Chakrabarti, the 39-year-old, former Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders staffer, is housing his congressional campaign efforts on the west side, which he describes as a microcosm of San Francisco, and of the nation.

“San Francisco, to me, (has always been) the ideal of what America should be,” Chakrabarti said. “We’re this real melting pot where we accept anybody. I think the Sunset and the Richmond demonstrate that so well.”

His campaign has been knocking on thousands of doors working to gain acceptance from westside voters as Chakrabarti, the tech centi-millionaire born to immigrant parents in Texas, enters an extremely high-profile and competitive race. While Pelosi has not officially announced her candidacy – she said she is waiting until after the Nov. 4 special election – her team filed paperwork on her behalf to be considered. (After this story was published in our print editions, Pelosi announced she would not run for reelection.) Last month, State Senator and Sunset Beacon columnist Scott Wiener also threw his hat into the ring for the seat; and some analysts predict Pelosi’s daughter, Christine may run. (Christine Pelosi announced she would run for the California State Senate after this story was published in our print editions.) Connie Chan, San Francisco District 1 supervisor and Richmond Review columnist, may also run.

Chakrabarti is no stranger to difficult-to-win races. He ran Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 winning campaign against New York Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley. Chakrabarti is also the founder of Justice Democrats, a leftist Political Action Committee (PAC) recruiting and electing progressive candidates nationwide.

Chakrabarti said, “I jumped into this race because I thought I could be a part of the change that I’m telling others to do all around the country.”

Within California’s District 11, – which encompasses all of San Francisco – Chakrabarti’s campaign team is hoping he can tap into a similar cultural cachet of politicians like Ocasio-Cortez and New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani. Chakrabarti has an extremely active social media presence, resembling that of other San Francisco politicians like Mayor Daniel Lurie and former District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, where Chakrabarti shares content supporting local businesses, speaking to commuters and attending local events.

On the west side however, Chakrabarti is relying less on his online presence and leftist ideology and more on his respect toward Pelosi as he attempts to improve living conditions in the Richmond and Sunset Districts.

“I love being in this neighborhood,” Chakrabarti said. “When we launched, we were taking a bit of a bet of saying, ‘We think there’s this deep appetite for change, and we’re not going to make any assumptions about who our voter base is, or who our voters are. We’re just going to talk to everybody.’ We’ve done a lot of door-knocking in this neighborhood at this point, and I’d say I’ve been honestly surprised at how receptive people are to our campaign.”

When it comes to discussing Pelosi’s 37 years in Congress, Chakrabarti noted, “People don’t dislike Nancy Pelosi. A lot of people have a lot of respect for her, me included. But it’s just that there is this deep feeling all across the board, regardless of age, regardless of where you live in the City, that something has to change. The Democratic establishment has failed again, and we need some vision for what comes next.

“There are so many tools that Democratic leaders are not using to stop – what I think – is an authoritarian coup,” Chakrabarti continued. “I’m not seeing any vision from the party for what we actually do to fix the problem of people’s lives getting harder and life getting more unaffordable.”

Many young folks and political groups from throughout the Bay Area have begun to rally around Chakrabarti. His campaign promises include resisting President Donald Trump, offering affordable housing, funding public transit and providing Medicare for all. Many of his supporters cite their faith in these lofty ambitions as being supported by his legislative experience, such as his authorship of the Green New Deal.

“It’s nice to see a true progressive politician, whose policies align with my own core values,” said a campaign volunteer named Jackson who attended a canvassing event at the campaign’s Sunset office on Oct. 18.

The event included a morning of canvassing and sign-making for the “No Kings” National Day of Protest against Trump. A group of approximately 50, mostly young, supporters filled the campaign office wearing shirts with bold letters displaying one of the campaign’s slogans: “We Can Fix This.”

Both individuals and groups attended the event, coming to the Inner Sunset to back Chakrabarti. For many, like Navia Ghandhi, a leader of the PAC Progressive Victory, the impetus behind supporting the campaign is to get Pelosi out of office.

“Saikat is the best candidate in this race,” Ghandhi said. “I’m glad that Pelosi has been in office doing all this great work over so many decades, but we need people who are really energetic, active and ready to fight the Trump administration tooth and nail. With all due respect, Nancy needs a break.”

Pelosi, and her daughter Christine, have both made it clear that they will not be making any announcements about their candidacy until after the Nov. 4 special election. Since announcing his run on Oct. 22, Wiener has raised more than $730,000 dollars. Here on the west side, Weiner has been the subject of some praise and much scrutiny for his support of upzoning and Sunset Dunes Park.

While residents can expect to see more of Chakrabarti and his supporters in the westside neighborhoods leading up to the June 2, 2026, primary election, Chakrabarti said he is continuing to be influenced by the people living here. Chakrabarti mentioned that the recent political debate in the Sunset over the recall of Engardio and the controversy around the Upper Great Highway has provided him with some insight on his own political philosophy.

“You have to figure out how to get trust back. A big part of my campaign is that I am extremely available,” he said. “Running a campaign like this, where you are talking about new ideas and big ideas, you have to make sure you’re actually taking input.”

Interested residents can go to Chakrabarti’s website to schedule a voter video-call with him. The campaign will be hosting town halls around the City, starting at the Richmond Recreation Center on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Learn more at saikat.us/en.