Se State Sen. Scott Wiener is a strategic and successful lawmaker who often lets emotions drive his decisions – like Nancy Pelosi, he would like to take.
It has been an open secret for years that Wiener wants to run for Federal office when Pelosi retires, but he is also humbled by the California political machine and has waited his turn in the brutal political machine in San Francisco.
Until now.
The San Francisco Standard broke the news Thursday that Wiener is running on the 2026 ballot, though he has yet to officially announce it.
It’s shocking news even to those deep in the dog world of SF politics and it brought out the inevitable news about Pelosi (who will oust President Bidnen from the age-related race) being put on the ballot. It also ensures a race against him that will be watched nationally and by the progressive left, both of which take issue with the wiener.
Oh, the drama.
Take what you will, but a few months after the hip replacement surgery, Pelosi (literally) is back on her stiletto heels and raising beaucoup dollars to raise voting maps against the GOP Cheat-Fest in Texas-fest in Texas.
Yes, he is 85, but neither is Joe. Also, no more spring chicken. Therefore, the national debate that the Democrats need not only but elected candidates but who are of the right level in the city legally, although the intelligence is always active and respectful enough not to organize themselves that way.
He will leave that to reporters, who have blocked Pelosi for months from announcing that he will seek another name, a question he has refused to answer directly. Instead, his party has focused on a questionable election to get 50 nominations and says any announcement about his future should wait after the votes are counted.
To be true to Pelosi, she went all out to both fundraise and campaign for the renewal effort, and its passage is critical for Democrats to even gain any power in the Midterms.
If Prop. 50 fails, there is no way it is not a miracle, except maybe an unexpected blue wave, where the Democrats can take the chamber. So November 4th is not a day to argue. It will determine whether there is a chance to check Trump’s power grab, and preserve democracy. Personally, I don’t fault Pelosi for getting involved in that fight.
To be fair to wiener, his decision to announce now was probably more driven by money and political momentum than it was in Pelosi’s age.
That’s because Pelosi already has a challenge – the ultra-rich progressive Chakrabarti, a startup millionaire who served as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager during her first defeat in Congress, and recently announced her genius.
In 2019, before the House trumpeted over his questionable actions involving Ukraine, Chakrabarti tweeted, “Pelosi said don’t focus on getting kitchen table issues this year.”
Chakrabarti, who was born the year before Pelosi was first elected to Congress in 1987, has contributed $700,000 to her campaign and has the financial ability to spend more. Wiener, in his high-profile reputation campaign, raised a little over $1 million, not nearly enough. The main one will be in June and it will be expensive.
Although we have yet to reach Halloween, a stroll down the aisles of any big box store can tell you that Christmas is nearby, putting the pressure of the wiener to raise money as quickly as possible before the winter freezes.
Add to that pressure the fact that Chakrabarti has political skills and growing popularity. He was a tech architect behind the success of working for volunteers for both the AOC and Bernie Sanders.
An internal poll released a few months ago (and any internal poll should be viewed with skepticism) showed chakrabarti drawing 34% of voters to pelosi’s 47%. His numbers increased as voters learned more about him – a few compared him to New York’s ZOHRAN MAMDANI, currently running for Mayor Arew Cuomo.
The problem with that is that Wiener is not Cuomo. He’s a self-progressive, and one with an established track record of finding things, things that keep going.
I have watched him over the years push agendas he wants through the Statehouse Government, including bills where I would bet.
Recently, he wrote a state ban on police, including snow, wearing masks. Although the Feds have said they won’t enforce the new law, they just signed the case, and it will likely end up in court, it’s the right message to send to America’s secret police.
Wiener also passed the bill for housing that would raise bulls around transit hubs, and led to a fee to control artificial intelligence.
In previous terms, he successfully forced insurance companies to cover mental health in the same way they cover physical health; they are being pushed by big companies to disclose their climate impact; And he was one of the main sponsors of the “Yimby” policies that made it easier to build houses.
He also passed a number of laws protecting the rights of immigrants and immigrants + +, which made him a target of the interests of the right. He has received constant death threats over the years, including one from an anti-Vaxxer who was found guilty of seven counts in 2022 after making threats and being found in possession of weapons. Wiener doesn’t have Pelosi’s charisma, but she has the credentials to get the job done and handle the vicious vitriol of today’s politics.
Unlike Chakrabarti, the ownership has also become part of the San Francisco community, and has its own base of support – although it is considered moderate in the continuation of the development of Chakrabarti. This is where San Francisco begins to marvel. Almost anywhere else, the wiener will be firmly on the left. But some of his constituencies consider him too liberal – too friendly on his housing policies and have criticized his past policies for increasing the number of mentally ill Conservatives.
But still, a recent poll conducted by EMC research but not released publicly shows that 61% of primary voters have a favorable opinion of the wiener. That far outstrips the 21% who said the same about Chakrabarti or even the 21% who favored Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, who has been talked about as a possible successor.
Which all means that the wiener is in the moment now. He is popular but needs momentum and cash. The Democratic Party is in trouble, and the old rules are out the window, even in San Francisco.
So waiting for Pelosi has become little more than waiting for godlot, a self-imposed limbo that is more likely to lead to failure than victory.
