Ex-AOC Aide Launches Primary Challenge Against Pelosi
Never too early…
Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)’s ex-chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti announced plans to challenge former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the seat she has held for over two decades.
In a lengthy post announcing his candidacy, Chakrabarti spoke about his time with AOC.
“After serving as her campaign manager and first chief of staff, I returned to San Francisco where for five years I’ve led a policy think tank that develops comprehensive solutions to the problems that both America and San Francisco face,” he wrote in a statement on X.
“Now, I want to bring those solutions to Congress. I’m going to run a very different kind of campaign than most. Instead of spending hours each day doing “call time” with big money donors — I’m going to spend every day talking with voters. I know! What a radical idea,” he stated.
Chakrabarti said his campaign would offer an “alternative vision” to President Trump and Elon Musk’s form of government.
“Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership,” he said.
“I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago,” Chakrabarti said in the statement.
“In an interview with Ezra Klein after Trump’s victory, Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree.”
Chakrabarti followed the statement by acknowledging the race would be “nearly impossible” and requires months of organizing.
“I know it might seem like it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings,” he wrote.
The challenge to the veteran lawmaker comes as the Democrat Party desperately seeks to rebound after its massive 2024 losses.
“We have no coherent message,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told The New York Times on Sunday. “This guy is psychotic, and there’s so much, but everything that underlines it is white supremacy and hate. There needs to be a message that is clear on at least the underlying thing that comes with all of this.”
The DNC elected Minnesota party leader Ken Martin on Saturday, who said during his victory speech they needed to “to rebuild our coalition.”
“The policies that we support and the message that we have is not wrong,” Martin told the NYT. “It is a messaging problem and a brand problem. Those voters are not connecting our policies with their lives.”
