Tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti takes aim at Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress
A new political candidate gunning for Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat says Democratic leaders were "paralyzed and unprepared" in the face of a second Trump presidency.
"It's a political instinct. I think we are in a moment where it could happen," said Saikat Chakrabarti.
Chakrabarti recently announced his candidacy and invited CBS News Bay Area to see the inner workings of his campaign launch and find out why the self-made tech centi-millionaire is entering the race.
In the early stages of his campaign, instead of door-knocking first, his focus is a concerted effort to host online meetings with a handful of voters who sign up on his website to join and ask questions.
"I'm going to find every way I can to talk to everybody that I possibly can in San Francisco and get my message to them directly," explained Chakrabarti.
In 2018, the former software engineer who left Wall Street and Silicon Valley success behind spearheaded a political action committee to bring new voices to Washington.
"Both parties have been ignoring the kind of biggest problems facing most people," said Chakrabarti.
That includes cost of living and economic opportunities. He recruited and guided Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to unseat longtime incumbent and high ranking Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley of New York.
"If that could happen then, in that lower change environment, what could happen right now?" asked Chakrabarti.
He says Pelosi and Democratic leaders were not ready to take on Trump when he returned to office, especially with the added impact of Elon Musk and DOGE. He argues that a transformation of the party begins with her seat.
"I've got a lot of respect for a lot of what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her time in Congress, but I just think we're in a different era now," said Chakrabarti.
"The progressives have always been disappointed in Nancy Pelosi. They'll continue to be disappointed with Nancy Pelosi, but the progressive left senses an opportunity to push the moment of generational change," said Sonoma State Political Science Professor David McCuan.
"There is this moment and attempt to move the party to the left when there's a lot of people polling, data, and analysis looking at this and saying what is the message for Democrats out of November and that question has not been resolved," he added.
Chakrabarti believes Pelosi, who has served in Congress for 37 years, is out of touch.
"I'm not sure she realizes the level to which the average person -- or even most people in this country and in San Francisco -- are really feeling the squeeze of just how expensive these big essentials have gotten," said Chakrabarti.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to Pelosi's office seeking comment, but did not get a response.
"To really rebuild this party, we need a whole new generation of leaders who are committed to this kind of a vision of really going out there and first admitting that there's a problem, which I think the party often doesn't admit at all," said Chakrabarti.
Among the priorities the the 39-year-old San Francisco resident wants to tackle are universal guaranteed healthcare and tuition free community colleges, but says his focus is on transforming the economy. That's why he believes voters chose Trump in 2024.
Chakrabarti says he's the change candidate for Democrats, who can have a greater impact on local issues like homelessness, the drug crisis, and other city blight.
"We need to have national focus and national leadership on it. We need to actually have the kind of structural changes that will end this stuff, not just kind of make the situation a little bit better," said Chakrabarti.
For now, it starts with convincing one voter at a time, hoping that leads to a massive grassroots movement.
Chakrabarti plans to fund part of his campaign with his own money. He currently runs a policy think tank that develops comprehensive solutions to the problems that both America and San Francisco face.
He's the son of immigrants, who attended public schools in Texas, then graduated from Harvard University.
He catapulted onto the political stage working for Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential run.
