Key facts
- Nancy Pelosi is actively campaigning to prevent Scott Wiener from succeeding her in Congress.
- Pelosi is endorsing and supporting Supervisor Connie Chan in the race.
- The feud escalated with criticism of an AI chatbot used by Wiener's campaign.
- Pelosi and allies accused the chatbot of sexism and racial tropes.
- Wiener apologized for the chatbot and took it down.
- Pelosi's daughter, Christine Pelosi, is running for Wiener's state Senate seat.
Nancy Pelosi is deploying her extensive political network to prevent state Senator Scott Wiener from succeeding her in Congress, backing San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan instead. The increasingly bitter feud has intensified with Pelosi and her allies publicly denouncing Wiener's campaign for using an AI-powered chatbot that imitated Chan.
Pelosi's efforts to block Wiener, the frontrunner, have been building for weeks. She has hosted fundraisers for Chan, secured endorsements from Capitol Hill allies, and even loaned a top adviser to Chan's campaign. Pelosi reportedly urged civil-rights icon Dolores Huerta to retract her endorsement of Wiener, though Huerta did not comply. Pelosi stated her support for Chan is based on shared ties to labor unions and the potential for increased Asian American representation in Congress, noting a recent trend of men succeeding prominent female lawmakers in the Bay Area.
While both Wiener and Pelosi are considered business-friendly Democrats by San Francisco standards, Wiener has clashed with some of Pelosi's key labor constituencies over proposals to fast-track housing construction and his support from real-estate developers. The timing of Wiener's campaign announcement, before Pelosi's retirement, has also been a point of contention, with allies of Pelosi, including former Mayor Willie Brown, claiming Wiener assured them he would not run against her. Wiener denies these claims, calling them fabricated.
Supporters of Wiener suggest Pelosi's actions stem from political ambition for her daughter, Christine Pelosi, who is now running for Wiener's state Senate seat. They speculate Pelosi pivoted to Chan when a direct congressional race between her daughter and Wiener seemed daunting. Wiener stated he entered the race early due to a strong primary challenge from Saikat Chakrabarti and the need to raise funds in anticipation of Pelosi not seeking reelection.
The conflict reached a peak when Pelosi, joined by other female Democratic representatives and San Francisco political clubs, condemned Wiener's chatbot. The bot appeared to mock Chan's opposition to housing and transit projects. Wiener apologized, stating the tactic missed the mark and shifted focus from substantive issues. Chan's campaign had previously alleged the chatbot contained racist and sexist undertones.