Saikat Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old American of Indian descent, has emerged as a challenger to Nancy Pelosi in California's 11th Congressional District for the 2026 election. Born on January 12, 1986, Chakrabarti was raised in a Bengali Hindu household in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a political advisor, left-wing activist, and software engineer. Chakrabarti's decision to run against the long-time Congresswoman has been driven by his belief that the Democratic Party needs new leadership and is currently "paralyzed and unprepared" for the current political landscape.

Early Life and Career

Chakrabarti's background is diverse, blending a strong technical foundation with political activism. He graduated from Harvard University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in computer science. Following graduation, he worked at Bridgewater Associates and then spent six years in Silicon Valley at various startups. He co-founded a web design company called Mockingbird and was a founding engineer at Stripe, a payment processing company. Financial disclosures indicate that Chakrabarti holds over $50 million in equity in Stripe.

Political Career

Chakrabarti's entry into politics began with Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, where he served as the Director of Organizing Technology. He helped develop a messaging tool called Spoke for grassroots supporters. Following the 2016 campaign, Chakrabarti co-founded Brand New Congress, a political action committee aimed at recruiting new candidates for Congress. He also co-founded Justice Democrats, a group that recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run against Joe Crowley.

His work with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) marked a significant turning point in his political career. Chakrabarti managed Ocasio-Cortez's primary campaign against 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley and subsequently became her campaign chair. After her victory, he became her chief of staff. During his time as chief of staff, Chakrabarti led the team that drafted the Green New Deal resolution. He resigned from Ocasio-Cortez's office in August 2019 to work with New Consensus, an organization promoting the Green New Deal.

2026 Congressional Campaign

On February 5, 2025, Chakrabarti announced his candidacy for California's 11th congressional district in 2026, challenging Nancy Pelosi. While expressing respect for Pelosi, he stated that the Democratic Party needs new leadership. He believes that Democratic congressional leaders are unprepared for the challenges facing the country. Chakrabarti has criticized Pelosi's response to Donald Trump's election in 2024, saying she treated it "like just another moment in politics".

Chakrabarti's platform includes making public colleges and trade schools free, prohibiting stock trading by members of Congress, and building "tens of thousands of homes" in San Francisco. He is also a supporter of local non-profits such as the SF-Marin Food Bank and the Housing Accelerator Fund. Chakrabarti has promised to self-fund his campaign.

Call for Change in the Democratic Party

Chakrabarti argues that the Democratic Party needs to undergo significant change to address the challenges facing the country. He believes that the party has been ignoring the problems most Americans face, such as stagnant wages and rising costs of living. He has expressed frustration with the Democratic establishment, saying that they are not doing enough to fight for the interests of ordinary people. Chakrabarti aims to build a movement that will recruit new people into office and change the brand of the Democratic Party. He views the current Democratic party as being bought out by corporate and big money interests.

He says that the old generation of leadership doesn't recognize that the Republican Party is a completely different Republican Party and are just hoping that the backlash of Trump will build up and they will let the pendulum swing back their way.

Challenges and Prospects

Chakrabarti faces an uphill battle against Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987 and is a powerful figure in the Democratic Party. Pelosi has also been instrumental in shaping US policies and has held the position of Speaker of the House twice. However, some observers believe that Chakrabarti has a chance of winning, particularly among younger voters. His campaign is focusing on grassroots organizing and direct voter engagement. As of October 2025, Chakrabarti has raised approximately $950,000 for his campaign.