Saikat Chakrabarti Ends Congressional Bid

Picture Credit- Instagram

India-West News Desk

SAN FRANCISCO– Saikat Chakrabarti has suspended his campaign for California’s 11th Congressional District after finishing behind State Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the primary election, ending his bid to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

The Indian-origin tech entrepreneur and former congressional aide announced June 3 that he was stepping aside and congratulated Wiener and Chan, who advanced to the November general election under California’s top-two primary system.

“I want to congratulate Sen. Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan on their victories and thank everyone who participated in this election. While this wasn’t the outcome we hoped for, I’m incredibly proud of what we built together,” Chakrabarti said.

Preliminary election returns showed Wiener leading the field with more than 41% of the vote, followed by Chan with nearly 29%. Chakrabarti was in third place with about 15% as ballot counting continued.

Pelosi, who is retiring after nearly 40 years representing San Francisco in Congress, endorsed Chan in the race.

Chakrabarti, a former Stripe engineer who later served as chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said his campaign was unable to overcome what he described as “7 million dollars of AI, Crypto, and AIPAC money” spent in the contest.

He also thanked supporters and volunteers, saying the campaign built “the largest grassroots field campaign San Francisco has ever seen” and showed that voters were seeking a different kind of politics.

“This campaign has come to an end, but the challenges facing San Francisco and our country remain,” Chakrabarti said.

“I love San Francisco, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’ve dedicated my life to pushing forward the progressive movement and I’m going to continue to do that.”

In an Instagram post after the result, Chakrabarti thanked supporters and said the campaign’s goals would continue beyond the election.

“The campaign has ended, but the mission remains,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone who volunteered and supported this campaign.”