Nancy Pelosi endorses fellow progressive Connie Chan in high-profile race to succeed her - BERITAJA

After months of resisting endorsing a successor, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the erstwhile House speaker, officially threw her support down a chap progressive, San Francisco Board of Supervisors personnel Connie Chan, connected Monday.

Voters successful Pelosi’s wide San Francisco territory caput to the polls successful 2 weeks to prime the apical 2 candidates who will quadrate disconnected successful the November wide election.

“I cognize and emotion this district. I cognize the Congress, and I cognize Connie,” Pelosi says successful a short video, successful which she is seated alongside Chan pinch the image of the Golden Gate Bridge down them. “I’m proud to endorse Democrat Connie Chan and inquire you to subordinate maine successful electing her to Congress.”

Pelosi’s endorsement carries important weight successful the race. She has represented San Francisco successful Congress for about 40 years, she made history arsenic the first female speaker of the House, and she is regarded arsenic a wide icon. She besides is 1 of the party’s about successful fundraisers, and Chan is expected to use from her fundraising network.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors personnel Connie Chan during a legislature candidates forum successful San Francisco successful January.Scott Strazzante / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Pelosi, 86, said successful November that she would not tally for re-election. Even earlier the general announcement, 2 high-profile candidates had jumped into the race: authorities Sen. Scott Weiner and able erstwhile tech executive Saikat Chakrabarti, a co-founder of the progressive extracurricular group Justice Democrats, which helped motorboat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to governmental stardom.

Chan, who emigrated from Hong Kong pinch her family, waited for Pelosi to denote her status earlier she announced her bid.

“I retrieve seeing San Francisco for the first clip erstwhile I was 13 years old. I did not speak a connection of English but I had heard this was a sanctuary metropolis wherever thing was possible,” Chan, 47, said successful a statement. “Today, to beryllium endorsed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to travel her successful Congress — I cognize that is true. That’s San Francisco and that is the metropolis we are fighting for.”

Early successful her career, Chan was a unpaid Chinese expert and a organization organizer. In 2006, she began arsenic a legislative adjutant to then-Board of Supervisors personnel Sophie Maxwell and later held roles pinch Kamala Harris erstwhile she was the San Francisco territory attorney.

Chan has served connected the Board of Supervisors since 2021 and is chair of the Budget Committee.

There had been early speculation that Pelosi was grooming her girl Christine Pelosi to win her successful Congress. But Christine Pelosi announced she would tally for Weiner’s authorities Senate spot alternatively than effort to travel successful her mother’s footsteps.

Nancy Pelosi has been adjacent friends pinch Chan. But erstwhile she was asked successful November whether she was preparing to endorse a successor, she told Beritaja, “It isn’t my existent plan.”

With her full-throated endorsement of Chan, it was clear Pelosi’s plans had changed.

Chakrabarti downplayed Pelosi’s announcement, saying he didn’t want support from the Democratic establishment.

“I decided to tally for Congress past twelvemonth against Nancy Pelosi because I cognize that we request a caller procreation of activity to do much than conscionable extremity Trump. We request to present connected a imagination for a fundamentally amended life for ALL,” Chakrabarti posted connected X.

“Our strategy has ne'er been to triumph the endorsements of the constitution I’m moving against—it’s been to triumph the votes of group directly. That’s why we’ve built the largest section cognition successful San Francisco history,” he continued. “People aren’t showing up conscionable because of me. They’re showing up because they are sick and tired of a surgery position quo and judge a amended early is possible.”