<!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ --></p> <p>from <a href=""https://calmatters.org/author/maya-miller/"" title=""Posts" by="" maya="" c.="" miller="" class=""author" url="" fn="" rel=""author"">Maya S. Miller</a>CalMatters</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" width=""1200"" height=""800"" src=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/012325_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_35.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1"" class=""attachment-post-thumbnail" size-post-thumbnail="" wp-post-image="" alt="""" decoding=""async"" srcset=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/012325_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_35.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1" https:="" sizes=""(max-width:"/><figcaption>State Sen. Scott Wiener addresses lawmakers during a Senate session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters</figcaption></figure> <p>This story was originally published by <a href=""https://calmatters.org/"">CalMatters</a>. <a href=""https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/"">Sign up</a> for their newsletters.</p> <p>It’s official: Sen. <a href=""https://calmatters.org/tag/scott-wiener/"">Scott Wiener</a> finally ran for Congress. </p> <p>The San Francisco lawmaker’s announcement today made it clear that he is done waiting for the former Speaker of the House <a href=""https://calmatters.org/tag/nancy-pelosi/"">Nancy Pelosi </a>to withdraw, as he previously insisted he would. </p> <p>But instead of relying on his many legislative accomplishments — which range from rapid housing development to police reforms — the five-term state senator spent most of <a href=""https://x.com/Scott_Wiener/status/1981013397476122936"">its launch video</a> vowing to push back against President Donald Trump’s agenda and defend his city, which the president has threatened to target next for troop deployments. </p> <p>“My family escaped fascism in Europe. I never thought the United States would slide into fascism as we see it today,” Wiener tells viewers, holding a photo of his ancestors, before the video cuts to distorted and dystopian images of the president <a href=""https://calmatters.org/tag/donald-trump/"">Donald Trump</a>Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk. </p> <p>“I’m running for Congress to defend San Francisco — our values, our people and the United States Constitution — with everything I’ve got.” </p> <p>Wiener joins a race that also includes progressive challenger Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Chakrabarti has been vocal in calling for Pelosi to step down and make way for a younger generation of leaders. </p> <p>Pelosi said she will announce her plans in 2026 <a href=""https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/22/pelosi-to-announce-plans-after-california-election-in-november-00618093"">after the extraordinary national elections</a> on November 4. She was first elected to Congress in 1987 and led her party in the House from the George W. Bush administration to former President Joe Biden.</p> <p>Wiener is best known for pushing legislation in Sacramento that sped up new housing construction by blowing holes in California’s landmark environmental laws, which housing advocates say are too often a weapon to delay projects indefinitely.</p> <p>He pressed <a href=""https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/10/newsom-signs-massive-california-housing-overhaul/"">controversial legislation this year</a> which accelerates residential construction near transit stops in the state’s largest metro areas, which would allow taller buildings in single-family neighborhoods. He also authored a new law this year that <a href=""https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/09/newsom-new-immigration-laws/"">prohibits immigration and customs officials from wearing ski masks</a> to hide their identity. </p> <p>This article was <a href=""https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/10/scott-wiener-nancy-pelosi-election/"">originally published on CalMatters</a> and is republished under <a href=""https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives</a> license.</p> <p> Copy the HTML
