In San Francisco’s bruising House race, even Pelosi is a target

SAN FRANCISCO — Democrats in San Francisco have talked about Nancy Pelosi with a sense of reverence for the better part of 40 years. Saikat Chakrabarti is testing whether he can win a primary by flaming her instead.

Chakrabarti, a former tech engineer, is vying to succeed Pelosi in the race for the city’s open House seat, casting himself as the anti-establishment candidate who can tap into populist energy on the left. And now that Pelosi has endorsed another candidate in the contest, he’s starting to take shots at the iconic San Francisco powerbroker herself.

Last week, Chakrabarti’s campaign released a video from a recent debate where he listed his biggest disagreements with Pelosi. Touting his recent endorsements from progressive Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, he shared a social media post that stated, “Pelosi tries to handpick her own successor, the Squad endorses Saikat.”

That was after voters in the city last week received a push poll testing potential attacks Chakrabarti could deploy against rival Connie Chan, a city supervisor and Pelosi’s chosen successor. The poll included allusions to the left’s critiques of the former speaker: “Connie Chan is endorsed by the same establishment leaders who killed Medicare for All and made millions trading stocks in Congress.” (Chakrabarti’s campaign declined to confirm if the poll was from the campaign.)

The hits come in the immediate aftermath of Pelosi endorsing Chan. Polling suggests they are in a dead heat for the second-place spot to advance from Tuesday’s primary — and likely face state Sen. Scott Wiener, the front-runner, in the November election.

It’s a risky strategy testing political norms in San Francisco, where respect for Pelosi looms large. The former speaker still enjoys high favorability ratings in her hometown, and her thumbprint can be seen across the city, from infrastructure projects like the central subway to Chinatown to the recreational jewel of Presidio park.

“It’s the kind of tactic you see on a losing campaign,” said Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s former deputy chief of staff who’s been a vocal critic of Chakrabarti. “No one has done more for San Francisco in the last half century than Nancy Pelosi.”

Chakrabarti entered the race early last year, initially to run against Pelosi. He previously had bad blood with Pelosi’s team when he publicly criticized her during his brief tenure as chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who has declined to endorse in the race).

After Pelosi announced her retirement last fall, he shifted his focus to attacking Wiener and the Democratic establishment. Now, his campaign said he’s highlighting policy differences with Pelosi, not attacking her personally. In a statement, Chakrabarti said he has “some fundamental disagreements with her,” though he said she has accomplished “amazing things” for the city and country.

“Where we disagree is: In Congress, I will fight for Medicare for All, vote against increases to defense spending, advocate for a wealth tax on billionaires, and fight for a ban on stock trading for members of Congress,” Chakrabarti said. “When asked at a debate, my opponent Connie Chan could not name any disagreements she had with the speaker emerita.”

Julie Edwards, Chan’s campaign spokesperson, bristled at Chakrabarti’s criticism of the former speaker. “Only someone who hasn’t lived or voted in San Francisco would do something like that,” she said of his attacks on Pelosi (alluding to Chakrabarti not voting in city elections for nearly 10 years).

Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter</i>","_id":"00000195-7266-d055-affd-7376f80d0000","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>California Playbook newsletter.

المصدر: Politico