After months of gentle nudging, out California State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco (D) is entering the race to succeed former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

She can’t say she wasn’t warned.

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Scott Wiener never backs down from a fight. And we are better for it.

Two years ago, Wiener, a prolific 55-year-old San Francisco legislator, launched an exploratory committee for the seat that Pelosi, age 85, has held since 1988. He’s raised over $1 million since, but remained deferential to the congresswoman as she mulled a 20th term.

In March, Wiener said he’d wait to launch a campaign until after Pelosi retired, saying it would “be an honor” to succeed her.

In June, he filed preliminary paperwork for a run, stating, “I’ve been clear that I intend to run for this seat whenever the race opens up, whether in 2026 or 2028.” 

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Now, however, with other candidates lining up to challenge Pelosi, Wiener isn’t waiting for a decision from the Speaker Emeritus.

According to at least two sources close to him, Wiener is running.

The San Francisco Standard broke the story.

After handing over the Speaker’s gavel to Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in 2023, Pelosi has receded from her once-powerful role as Congress’ preeminent dealmaker.

Pelosi was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House and helped shepherd landmark legislation through Congress, including the Affordable Healthcare Act during President Barack Obama’s first term, and the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act under President Joe Biden.

She garnered more than 80% of the vote in her last election in San Francisco in 2024.

But according to recent polling in the city, San Francisco is eager for generational change, with 51% of those surveyed preferring an alternative to Pelosi.

Wiener received the highest favorability rating, with 61% among a field of potential challengers.

The out gay lawmaker has earned a reputation in San Francisco — first as supervisor in former San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk’s seat representing the Castro district, and now as the city’s state senator. He is also an accomplished and tenacious legislator, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, affordable housing, and expanded public transportation.

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation expanding Wiener’s 2022 “State of Refuge Act,” granting protections to transgender people in California.

But while Wiener waited on Pelosi’s decision on another run, other candidates for California’s 11th congressional district didn’t.

Wiener will face off against at least one deep-pocketed and well-connected challenger, Saikat Chakrabarti, a progressive tech centimillionaire who went on to serve as a campaign manager and chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

While Wiener’s politics are left of center by any measure, Chakrabarti aligns with the Democratic Socialist values championed by his former boss in Congress, setting up a race that puts Wiener in the role of centrist.

Anticipating that dynamic, the nascent candidate wrote an editorial for the Standard in 2024 laying out his campaign themes, addressing Republicans, and with them, his likely challenger.

“The success of the state depends on our ability to lower the most important costs facing households everywhere: child care, healthcare, energy, transportation, and, most of all, housing,” Wiener said. “Focusing like a laser on issues of affordability will provide a powerful contrast to … [the] Republican Party, which continues to make costly — and largely impossible — promises rather than deal with the complexities of real-world problem-solving.”

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