A California Democrat state senator is reportedly planning to challenge Rep. Nancy Pelosi D-CA), who has not yet announced if she will run for re-election or retire, according to multiple reports.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) will reportedly announce his plans to unseat Pelosi “next week,” several “allies briefed on his plans” told Politico. The report that Wiener will allegedly challenge Pelosi comes as Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), has launched a primary challenge against Pelosi.
Per Politico:
Pelosi, 85, hasn’t said if she plans to run for another term in 2026. Wiener’s abrupt foray into the race comes as Pelosi already faces a stronger-than-expected primary challenger in Saikat Chakrabarti, a wealthy former tech executive who previously worked as chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
One person familiar with Wiener’s thinking said he’s eager to launch his campaign now to start fundraising, noting Chakrabarti has poured $700,000 of his money into the race.
The San Francisco Standard, which first reported that Wiener is reportedly gearing up to challenge Pelosi, noted that “sources close to Wiener” told the outlet that Wiener “has told political allies” about his intentions to challenge Pelosi, despite people having “expected him to wait until Pelosi decided her own fate:”
Wiener previously said he would wait until Pelosi retired. But the two-time speaker of the House, who is widely regarded as one of the most powerful women in U.S. political history, has receded from the spotlight since she gave up the gavel, creating a potential window of opportunity for challengers in the 2026 midterms.
Wiener’s revised plans may not ultimately break his pledge. Pelosi, 85, has yet to formally announce whether she will seek a 21st term in office.
Breitbart News has reported that after Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated, Wiener “expressed sympathy” for the people who were hating on Kirk, and that he described Kirk as a “vile bigot who did immeasurable harm.”
Wiener has also criticized the Trump administration for placing “some of the worst of the worst criminals convicted of murder, rape, and pedophilia,” into migrant detention centers, and has accused President Donald Trump to trying to turn the United States into a “fascist police state.”
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