Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now under attack from within — and could finally be ousted from office amid increased scrutiny of her personal finances.
California State Senator Scott Wiener filed paperwork Friday to run for Pelosi’s Congressional seat, positioning himself as a very serious primary challenge for the longtime San Francisco Democrat’s seat. Pelosi has held power for nearly four decades.
Wiener, 55, filed to run for California’s 11th Congressional District to take over the 85-year-old Pelosi’s seat. Since launching an exploratory committee in 2023, Wiener has said he would not challenge Pelosi directly — but instead would push for her to resign.
“I’ve been clear that I intend to run for this seat whenever the race opens up, whether in 2026 or 2028,” Wiener said in a statement. “This filing is a critical step to prepare for the serious work of running to succeed one of the icons of American politics.”
If Pelosi reads the writing on the wall and chooses to step aside, Wiener will form a new committee for 2026 and transfer his existing campaign funds to the new race.
The elderly Pelosi has remained noncommittal about her plans for 2026, despite filing required paperwork late last year. The former House speaker stepped down from her leadership role in 2023. A spokesperson for Pelosi declined to comment on her reelection plans and Wiener’s potential candidacy.
Wiener already faces competition from the left wing of the Democratic Party for the eventual opening. Saikat Chakrabarti, a multimillionaire who was one of Stripe’s first engineers, announced earlier this year that he plans to challenge Pelosi if she runs for reelection.
Chakrabarti served as campaign manager and chief of staff for socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before returning to San Francisco five years ago to start a political think tank. He cited Pelosi’s efforts to block Ocasio-Cortez’s anticipated appointment to a powerful oversight committee as one reason for his candidacy.
“The Democratic Party needs new leadership,” Chakrabarti said in a February social media post announcing his candidacy. “The Democratic Party needs to stop acting like it’s competing against a normal political party that plays by the rules, and it needs a bold vision for how to raise living standards, quality of life, and security for all Americans. America is stuck, and Americans want real solutions that are as big as the problems we face.”
Wiener brings extensive political connections to a Democratic race, and would represent a battle within the larger war among Democrats who are reckoning with their elderly party leadership unwilling to give up power and their disillusioned young voting core.
Political science professor Melissa Michelson of Menlo College said the argument for older Democrats like Pelosi is that they’re “more experienced and have the seniority that might enable them to serve their constituents far more effectively than folks who are new.”
“Losing that leadership and that experience will be a huge hit to the Democratic Party,” Michelson said of Pelosi, who she called “the most effective house speaker in modern history.”
“But maybe what they gain is someone like Scott Wiener with new ideas who reinvigorates the electorate,” she added.
“In a potential race against extremely wealthy candidates who can self-fund, I’ll have to work very hard to prepare to go toe to toe,” Wiener said. “I’ve dedicated my life to the people of San Francisco and our core values, and representing our great city in Congress — as we fight for our democracy, healthcare, housing, and basic civil rights — would be a deep honor.”
Wiener’s fundraising to take Pelosi’s seat has already raised more than $900,000, according to a campaign spokesperson. Advisors told Wiener he should launch his campaign now, as his continued fundraising could legally qualify him as a candidate for Congress.
Other potential candidates have been discussed by Democratic power brokers as Pelosi’s eventual replacement. Insiders have long speculated that Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, a party organizer, will run for the seat when her mother retires.
“Folks with a famous name like a Bush or a Cuomo, you’re a lot more likely to get elected because people remember the other politician, they feel like they know that person and they trust them more,” Michelson said.
Pelosi’s potential retirement would mark the end of an era for one of the most powerful Democratic leaders in recent history and open up a highly competitive race for the safe Democratic seat.
The challenge comes amid renewed scrutiny of Pelosi’s personal finances. New required disclosures show Pelosi and her husband Paul raked in a stunning income of $7.8 million to $42.5 million in 2024, increasing their estimated net worth to as much as $413 million.
A significant portion of their wealth comes from their stock portfolio, which has performed so consistently well that social media accounts are dedicated to tracking the Pelosis’ trades. Paul Pelosi’s portfolio outperformed every major hedge fund last year, according to market analysis.
In July, Paul Pelosi sold 5,000 shares of Microsoft just weeks before the Federal Trade Commission announced an antitrust investigation into the company. He also sold 2,000 Visa shares right before the Justice Department sued the company for allegedly monopolizing the debit-card market.
The Pelosis aren’t alone, but are instead among dozens of lawmakers whose portfolios beat the S&P 500 in 2024, according to watchdog group Unusual Whales.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have both signaled support for a ban on congressional stock trading, which Pelosi blocked repeatedly as speaker.