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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know U.S. Affairs Saikat Chakrabarti Among Several Democrats Hoping To Fill Seat Just Vacated By Nancy Pelosi A savvy political operative and fervent supporter of Bernie Sanders, also credited with the success of candidates like Alex- andria Ocasio Cortez, has the political landscape somewhat cleared with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement she would not seek re-election. He now faces off against several other aspiring Democrats who want to fill the San Fran- cisco vacancy. The Indian American candidate, Saikat Chakrabarti, who was born in Texas, and moved to San Francisco in 2009, hopes to get the Democratic Party endorsement in perhaps the most high-profile race in the country, aspiring to represent Califor- nia’s 11th Congressional District in the November 3, 2026 election. The primary date is yet to be announced. Many Democratic contenders have the same ambition as Chakrabarti. Bal- lotpedia shows at least 5 Democrats are battling for the primary win, as Pelosi declared she was not running for re- election. So far, Chakrabarti has received the endorsement of Track AIPAC, which tracks the powerful American Israel Po- litical Action Committee. Track AIPAC has endorsed other Indian Americans like Chris Ahuja, candidate for the US House of Representatives from California’s 32nd District, and Kshama Sawant, candidate for the US House fromWashington’s 9th District, as well as Junaid Ahmed of Paki- stani heritage running from Illinois’ 8th District, and scientist Karishma Manzur running for the US Senate from New Hampshire. By September 30, 2025, according to Federal Election Commission data, Chakrabarti had Total Receipts of nearly $1 million ($949,096.89). Total Contri- butions to his campaign amounted to $229,096.89, almost all of it from individ- ual contributions. Of the total, Chakrab- arti received loans of $720,000. The FEC data which covers the period January 1 to September 30, shows the candidate had disbursed $853,712.50. His Cash On Hand equalled $95,384.39. In the background Chakrabarti pro- vides on his campaign site, he started his own company in San Francisco, then joined the financial services multination- al Stripe, quitting to join Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign, honing his skills while traveling around the country to help build grassroots support for his Indepen- dent candidate. Chakrabarti ran Representative Alex- andria Ocasio-Cortez’ 2018 campaign before going into Congress as her Chief of Staff, where I was in charge of writing and launching the Green New Deal. He currently leads the policy think- tank New Consensus whose mission is to define “how the government can deliver prosperity and economic security for all Americans through an economic mobi- lization to build a clean economy for the U.S. and the world.” He is also involved in several non-profit organizations, he notes in his biography on the campaign website Saikat for Congress. Chakrabarti promises to “change the Democratic Party” if elected, so that it fights “for Medicare for All, building millions of units of affordable housing, ending big money in politics, taxing the billionaires and corporations, and other overwhelmingly popular policies.” On his Facebook page, Saikat For Con- gress, Chakrabarti describes himself as, “Engineer, organizer, policy wonk. Dem- ocrat running for Congress to represent San Francisco (CA-11). We need solutions as big as the problems we face.” Candidate for Congress from California Saikat Chakrabarti on the Muni. Saikat Chakrabarti talking to a voter. Why Ro Khanna Thinks Democrats Need A Total Makeover were the two times that Schumer failed to stand up dur- ing shutdown negotiations. But then his knocking [pro- gressive Senate candidate] Graham Platner in Maine. Putting his thumb on the scale on these races has sent a terrible message to young voters and progressives. His inability to recognize the phenomenal campaign of Mamdani speaks of a tone-deafness. And the real- ity is, I thought Barack Obama had ended the career of anyone who voted for the war in Iraq. But then, when these people like Schumer - who cheerleaded us into the biggest disaster in American foreign policy’s modern history - also showed a total moral obliviousness to Gaza, that also contributes to his need to step aside. Look, Donald Trump obliterated the pro-IraqWar con- stituency from his party. I don’t understand why we can’t sideline the pro-IraqWar constituency from our party. - - - What would you say to critics who say that progres- sives like yourself are using this call for Schumer to step down as a way to create tensions within the Democratic Party in an effort to remake it in a more progressive image? How much of this is a kind of power play for progressives? - - - If the question is “Will the fight with Schumer help us in the effort to reshape the Democratic Party?” - I plead guilty. - - - Gaza is a major divide within the party, where you have a leadership that is pro-Israel and deferential to Netanyahu and a base that is increasingly pro-Palestin- ian. The party risks hemorrhaging young progressive voters if it can’t speak truthfully about what happened in Gaza. But how do you resolve that internal tension? Because what that means is that Democrats may not be able to offer a unified front on one of the biggest moral questions of our time. - - - I believe this will be a fault line in the 2028 election, and the nominee will determine the direction of the party. If you did not vote against the $14 billion in aid to Netanyahu, then you are basically in a similar position to those Democrats who voted for the war in Iraq. If you’re unwilling to recognize the United Nations finding that there was a genocide in Gaza, then you are out of touch with where Democratic voters are. -TheWashington Post PHOTO:@SAIKAT.US PHOTO:@SAIKAT.US By Ela Dutt Cover Story News India Times (November 15, 2025 - November 21, 2025) November 21, 2025 7 - Continued From Page 6