Tech entrepreneur & political advisor Saikat Chakrabarti runs for Congress to fill Nancy Pelosi’s House seat

SAN FRANCISCO — Among the growing number of candidates showing interest in jumping into the race for filling the House seat left by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in January 2027, Saikat Chakrabarti, a tech entrepreneur turned political advisor and first-time candidate, has a very unique narrative and has received significant media coverage on his campaign for June primary election in 2026.

Chakrabarti is one of the very few tech executives to run for public offices in San Francisco, while the city is a capital of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and located in Silicon Valley, the global center of high-tech innovation. He was the first candidate to announce his run for Pelosi's seat in February 2025. He has been the only new face in San Francisco politics without being elected for any public offices among the possible candidates to fill the House seat representing San Francisco.

Although Chakrabarti is new to San Francisco voters, he has managed political campaigns for other candidates on a national level for a decade. June Primary Election in 2026 will be his first run for public office to be San Francisco’s new Congressman.

Chakrabarti's announcement to run for Congress challenging 4-decade-long Pelosi in February gained media attention with coverage and motivated State Senator Scott Wiener to follow him in telling the public that he would also run against Pelosi.

On November 6, Pelosi announced her retirement from Congress after finishing her current term which will end in January 2027. Since then, more candidates have shown their interest in running for Pelosi's seat, including former San Francisco Mayor London Breed and State Assemblyman Matt Haney. District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan is also considered as a potential candidate for the congressional seat representing San Francisco.

Chakrabarti, who has extensive experience organizing national political campaigns, has formed a diverse team for his own campaign. He sat down with Wind Newspaper in Chinatown for an interview to share more of his priorities in Congress.

"I always wanted to live in San Francisco. San Francisco is a paradise for me," Chakrabarti said he admired San Francisco since he was a young student in Texas where he was born and grew up.

In addition to San Francisco being part of the tech-innovation-center Silicon Valley, "it is really a melting pot where not everyone's the same and has all the culture and visions," said Chakrabarti.

39-year-old Chakrabarti was born in Port Worth, Texas, to his parents who are the first generation of immigrants from India. After graduation from high school, Chakrabarti went on to attend Harvard University and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science.

"I came to San Francisco after college in 2009, like so many others, with dreams of making a difference and fell in love with our city," Chakrabarti said.

He started his own company, web-design Mockingbird, prior to joining the payment-processing company Stripe as its second engineer. John Collison, an Ireland American who co-founded the Stripe with his brother Patrick and serves as its President, had also studied at Harvard University.

Chakrabarti has earned his wealth becoming a multimillionaire through his tech career as an entrepreneur and software engineer.

After working as the founding engineer for 7 years, Chakrabarti left Stripe in 2016 to join the campaign of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, running for President.

Sanders is regarded as one of the national leaders of the modern American progressive movement. Chakrabarti traveled the country for Sanders' presidential campaign and connected many young voters with Sanders' grassroots movement through his expertise on technology.

Chakrabarti enjoyed working behind the scenes for Sanders' campaign where he met many great people. "So many of them were trying to do amazing things for the country," said Chakrabarti.

"On that campaign, I met an incredible group of leaders and together we launched an effort to recruit a new generation of leaders to Congress called Justice Democrats," said Chakrabarti who served as its Executive Director.

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (also known by her initials AOC), D-New York, was elected in November 2018 at the age of 29 and defeated House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley who was a 10-term incumbent. Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in American history and gained national media attention.

Ocasio-Cortez was a member of Justice Democrats' first class of recruits. Chakrabarti ran her 2018 campaign and later served as her Chief of Staff including launching the Green New Deal, a package of legislation to address climate change along with achieving the social goals of job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality.

In 2019, Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Senator Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, introduced legislation in Congress for the Green New Deal which failed to advance in the Senate.

Chakrabarti always believes in the Green New Deal and left the office of Ocasio-Cortez in 2019. He returned to San Francisco and co-founded the New Consensus, a think tank organization focusing on developing environmental policies and proposals. Currently Chakrabarti serves as the President of New Consensus.

When asked why he decided to run for Congress as a first-time candidate for public office, Chakrabarti suggested that his experience of working in Congress as a Chief of Staff and campaigning for Sanders on national level had made a difference. He got frustrated with the Democratic Party leaders in Congress after President Donald Trump took office in 2025. “I have a real vision and a real plan to change the country,” Chakrabarti said.

If he gets elected, Chakrabarti will push his agenda on the Green New Deal in Congress. "It will boost economic development and create more working opportunities for middle class Americans, at the same time it addresses the issue of global warming and climate changes," said Chakrabarti.

As a member of the Asian community, Chakrabarti recognized that racism has been one of the leading challenges that all Asian Americans face everyday in the United States.

Chinese Americans are called model minorities with a stereotype. Chakrabarti said the Chinese community in San Francisco faces more challenges in cost of living and housing affordability, especially the first generation of Chinese American immigrants.

"Our campaign is about community, shared power, and honoring the people who built this city and continue to make it strong," said Chakrabarti. "San Francisco’s Chinese and Asian communities have shaped this city for generations, leading family owned businesses, schools, and neighborhood efforts that keep our communities vibrant."

"But in recent years, we have also seen the pain caused by the rise in anti-Asian hate and violence. No one should ever fear walking in their own neighborhoods or sending their kids to schools because of who they are."

Chakrabarti said addressing the hate issues means more than just words. "It means real investment in safety, solidarity, and community-based solutions that bring people together instead of dividing us."

Chakrabarti is a resident of Duboce Triangle neighborhood in San Francisco close to Mission and Castro Districts. After his announcement running for Congress made in February, he kicked off his campaign in early October with a rally in the Mission District where 600 people packed in the venue.

Following the kickoff rally, Chakrabarti has planned to hold town hall discussions at different neighborhoods from November until June Primary Election in 2026. The top two candidates who receive most votes in the primary election will enter the runoff in November.

Chakrabasti's first town hall meeting was held on November 10 at the Recreation Center in Richmond District where 200 people of all ages and ethnicities attended to meet and ask questions of his agendas in Congress.

Other town Hall discussions are scheduled to be held at Bernal Height on December 1, Potrero Hill on December 8, and Glen park on December 15.

"People deserve a representative who truly listens every day. I understand why many community organizations have felt unheard by our leaders. That frustration is real," Chakrabarti said. "I am running for Congress to change that, to make sure the government works for everyone, invests in the needs of our neighborhoods, and protects the safety, opportunity, and dignity of every family that calls this city home."

"We're running a clean and independent campaign. No corporate PAC Money," Chakrabarti added.