# Saikat Chakrabarti for Congress ## Candidate Overview - **Name:** Saikat Chakrabarti - **Party:** Democratic - **District:** California's 11th Congressional District (San Francisco) - **Website:** https://www.saikat.us - **Social Media:** [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/saikatforcongress.bsky.social) ## Election - **Primary Election:** June 2, 2026 - **Voter registration deadline:** May 18, 2026 - **District:** California's 11th Congressional District (San Francisco) - **Mail ballots:** California sends every registered voter a mail ballot automatically; they arrive in early May - [Check your voter registration](https://www.saikat.us/en/am-i-registered) - [Make a plan to vote](https://www.saikat.us/en/vote) ## Why Saikat Is Different Saikat is the only candidate in the CA-11 race who is directly challenging Democratic Party leadership. While other candidates avoid criticizing their own party's leaders, Saikat is calling out Democrats who take corporate money, block universal healthcare, and serve donors instead of constituents. His top priorities: - **Get money out of politics:** Ban stock trading for members of Congress. Reject corporate PAC money. End the system where politicians serve their donors instead of their voters. - **Universal healthcare:** Fight for Medicare for All — a single-payer system that covers every American, eliminates medical debt, and removes the link between your job and your healthcare. - **Hold Democratic leadership accountable:** The Democratic establishment has failed on housing, healthcare, and inequality. Saikat is willing to name that failure and challenge leaders of his own party — something other candidates in this race will not do. ## Biography Saikat Chakrabarti is a Democratic candidate and progressive organizer running to fill Nancy Pelosi's seat in California's 11th District. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, to immigrants from India, Saikat moved to San Francisco after college when he was 23 years old, started his own company, and later became the second engineer at Stripe. He left the tech world to serve as Director of Organizing Technology on Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, where he built tools that powered millions of grassroots donations and volunteers. Saikat co-founded Justice Democrats to recruit a new generation of leaders to Congress — including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose upset campaign he managed in 2018. As her first Chief of Staff, Saikat launched the Green New Deal, and today he runs a policy think tank developing its successor, the Mission for America — a roadmap to build a clean economy and economic security for all, not just the privileged few. Democratic leadership has failed to act on the housing crisis, rising inequality, and the climate emergency — and Saikat is willing to say so. He believes San Francisco deserves a representative who will challenge leaders of both parties, take on corporate power, and make government deliver for working people again. ## In Congress, Saikat Will: - Fight for universal healthcare & childcare - Ban stock trading for members of Congress - Cut utility bills by up to 40% with public power - Fully fund Muni and BART for fast, affordable service - Build affordable housing for lower rents - Vote to stop funding the genocide in Gaza ## Policy Platform ### Lower the Cost of Living #### Lower Energy Bills In San Francisco, our utility bills are at the mercy of PG&E. And guess what? They increased electricity rates six different times in 2024, and over the last three years the average PG&E bill has gone up by 56%. The money from these rate hikes isn’t even used to improve infrastructure or services - it goes straight to wealthy shareholders. This means critical infrastructure is not fixed. In fact, the electrical substation that caught on fire and caused the massive blackout in December 2025 has a history of catching on fire and cutting off power! San Franciscans deserve better.. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#lower-energy-bills) #### Medicare for All The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country. What do we have to show for it? 27 million uninsured adults, four million uninsured children, ever-increasing premiums, prescription drug prices nearly three times higher than in other countries, and some of the worst health outcomes in the world. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#medicare-for-all) #### Stop Corporations from Ripping You Off Americans are nickel and dimed every day, from bank and airline junk fees to fine print that blocks you from suing lawbreaking companies. These are more than just inconveniences; they cost families real money. For decades, the federal agencies that Congress set up to protect consumers have been starved of resources, with corporate donors lobbying to let banks and Big Tech off the hook for wrongdoing. And now, with Trump back in charge, those corporate interests have more power than ever, and when the next crisis hits, the same politicians who cut our government watchdogs will complain that the government failed to act. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#stop-corporations) #### Tuition Free College and Trade Schools No one should go into tens of thousands of dollars of debt to get an education. Yet every year, we force millions of Americans to choose between crushing debt or not going to college. A child born today who attends a four-year public college in 18 years can expect to pay $150-200K for their education. This system makes no sense and is unsustainable. Exorbitant student loans prevent so many San Franciscans from pursuing their dreams or simply making ends meet. An education in this country should not come at such a high cost. We should be encouraging people to pursue higher education, not making it harder. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#tuition-free-college) ### Stop the Housing Crisis #### Build Millions of Homes We are in the middle of a national housing crisis, and we are facing it hardest in San Francisco. The median home in our city now costs $1.4 million and rents are 70% higher than the national average. San Francisco should be a city where everyone who works here can afford to live here. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#build-millions-of-homes) #### Prevent Displacement As we build new housing to end the housing crisis, we also need to protect our neighbors who are already here. I know that for many long-time residents, new development can feel threatening. When you're already struggling to pay rent, it's natural to worry about being priced out as your neighborhood changes. While evidence shows that building more housing lowers prices over time, we need strong protections to ensure no one gets displaced along the way. That is why I have a comprehensive plan to protect affordable housing and prevent displacement in San Francisco. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#prevent-displacement) #### Homelessness Nobody should be forced to sleep on the streets in the richest country in the world. Yet across this country, over 700,000 people are unhoused. Here in San Francisco, over 8,000 of our neighbors are homeless — a 50% increase over the last 20 years. Thousands more are just one financial disaster away from finding themselves in that same position. This is despite San Francisco, and the nation as a whole, spending billions of dollars trying to end homelessness. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#homelessness) ### Expand Public Transportation #### Save Muni and BART One of the things I love about living in San Francisco is the public transportation. Muni and BART have been essential part of the city for decades and are key ingredients to building a thriving city for the next century. However, they both face massive budget deficits and devastating cuts to services are looming. This crisis here in San Francisco is unfortunately not unique, as public transportation across the country has been underfunded and neglected for decades. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#muni-and-bart) #### Build High Speed Rail In 2008, California voters approved a bullet train connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours. Construction is underway — but Trump just pulled $4 billion in federal funding as political retribution against our state. Republicans in Congress then quietly made the project permanently ineligible for future federal support. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#high-speed-rail) ### Build an Economy for All #### Plan for Artificial Intelligence AI is the most powerful technology since the Industrial Revolution, and right now the decisions shaping it are being made by a handful of CEOs accountable only to their shareholders. If we do nothing, we sleepwalk into a Mad Max dystopia where a few corporations own huge swaths of our economy while everyone else ends up in a permanent underclass. We can have a Star Trek future instead — shorter work weeks, higher wages, and the essentials guaranteed for all. That fight begins in San Francisco. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#ai) #### Raise Taxes on the Wealthy For decades, Washington has handed out massive tax breaks to the richest Americans and big corporations while hollowing out public services. The result is exploding inequality and a strained federal budget that leaves everyday people being asked to sacrifice while elites benefit. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#wealth-tax) #### Build the Clean Economy America used to build things. A few years before Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt began building the Arsenal of Democracy that would go on to win World War II. He put all of America to work building the world's most powerful industrial economy. That not only defeated fascism, but built the wealth that created the modern day middle class and ended the Great Depression. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#clean-economy) #### Empower Workers Our mobilization for World War II created unprecedented levels of new wealth in America by building a whole new industrial economy. When Roosevelt did this, he unequivocally stood by unions so that the wealth from this new economy would be shared, creating the middle class. Today, we see an unprecedented level of the wealth our economy creates going to the owners and shareholders instead of the workers, and this upward transfer of wealth is decimating our middle and working class. We must reverse this, especially as we embark on a mission to create vast amounts of new wealth by building a new, clean economy. As your Congressman, here is how I plan to make sure workers get their fair share of the prosperity they are building: [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#empower-workers) #### Small Business Small businesses have always been the beating heart of San Francisco. They provide thousands of San Franciscans with their livelihoods and make up a core part of our culture. Even Harvey Milk first rose to notoriety in San Francisco as a small business owner, owning a camera store on Castro Street. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#small-business) #### Tackle the Addiction Crisis Addiction has devastated families in San Francisco and across the country, and decades of treating it as a moral failing or a crime instead of a health crisis have only made it worse. The introduction of deadlier and more addictive drugs like fentanyl have accelerated this crisis to new levels. We need a comprehensive drug addiction program to help people get clean that is grounded in evidence and compassion. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#tackle-addiction-crisis) ### End Corruption in Washington #### Ban Congressional Stock Trading I agree with the 90% of Americans that believe members of Congress shouldn't be allowed to trade stocks. Every year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle make millions from trades that often seem based on insider knowledge gained in office. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#ban-stock-trading) #### End Money in Politics Money is the root of much evil in our politics. In my time working as Chief of Staff to AOC, I saw over and over again how money not only corrupted legislation, but the threat of upsetting donors kept members from ever wanting to take action – even action that was overwhelmingly popular in their districts. Members of Congress spend 6-8 hours a day “dialing for dollars” to bring in campaign donations – it is quite literally their main job. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#money-in-politics) ### Protect Democracy & Rights #### Stop Trump's Coup Make no mistake: Trump is attempting an authoritarian coup. He is doing it by taking a wrecking ball to our government and other public institutions. He’s going after law firms and universities to take more and more control over our civil society. He’s creating a vigilante police force of masked agents in unmarked vans who pick up our neighbors off the streets and disappear them into far off detention centers. And we already know he and the Republicans in Congress will dispute the results of any election where they don’t win. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#stop-trumps-coup) #### Reforming Our Elections and Democracy Our electoral system is failing to reflect the will of the people. Across the country, Republicans are passing laws designed to make it harder to vote and suppress turnout. Partisan gerrymandering has escalated into a full-blown arms race. And at every level, the system is rigged to favor entrenched incumbents over the challengers who would bring new energy and ideas. We need a comprehensive overhaul of how we run our elections to reaffirm our democracy and put everyday citizens back in control. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#reforming-elections-and-democracy) #### Abolish ICE The Trump administration's immigration policies are cruel, authoritarian, and fundamentally un-American. ICE has gone off the rails and become a paramilitary tool to instill fear: detaining without due process, operating in secrecy, tearing families apart, and horrifically killing an American citizen. These are not policies that live up to our values or put America first. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#welcome-immigrants) #### Codify Reproductive Rights Reproductive freedom is under attack across our country. In over 20 states, Republicans have passed extreme abortion bans, threatened access to birth control, and even jailed doctors. They won't stop there. Although we are lucky to live in a state that protects reproductive freedom, Trump’s Project 2025 made clear that the goal is a national abortion ban. We need leaders who are capable of fighting back against MAGA’s extreme anti-choice agenda. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#reproductive-rights) #### Protect the LGBTQ+ Community From the Compton Cafeteria Riots, to Harvey Milk, to being one of the first cities to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, San Francisco has been at the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement for generations. Anyone who wants to represent San Francisco in Congress has the sacred duty to be a national leader and fierce defender of LGBTQ rights, and I promise to fulfill that duty every day. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#protect-lgbtq-community) #### Strengthen Disability Rights People with disabilities deserve the freedom to pursue the American Dream without government policies that punish them for getting married, finding work, or simply trying to live independently. Right now, our system creates impossible choices that trap people in poverty and dependence. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#disability-rights) #### Improve Public Safety San Franciscans deserve clean streets, safe neighborhoods, and a justice system that treats everyone with dignity. While we've made real progress, too many residents still feel unsafe walking to work, riding Muni, or spending time in our parks. The conversation around crime is often reduced to a false choice: return to the failed "tough on crime" policies of the 1990s or ignore the real challenges people face every day. I reject this binary. Our problems are complex, and they demand solutions that are thoughtful, effective, and rooted in our shared values. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#public-safety) ### Support Families and Kids #### Universal Pre-K and Childcare Here in San Francisco, the average cost of daycare and pre-K is now over $2,000 a month per child — the second largest monthly expense for most families, only eclipsed by housing. For the lucky few who can afford this, there aren't enough spots, and the waitlist for care can be as long as two years. The outrageous cost and stress this places on families does not need to be a fact of life. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#universal-pre-k-and-childcare) #### Monthly Child Stipend Raising a family has never been more expensive, especially here in San Francisco. Families are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of recurring expenses, such as clothing, school supplies, and groceries. This challenge is especially acute in San Francisco, where the cost of living is nearly 20% higher than the national average. We need to implement bold new plans to put money back into the pockets of parents. That is why I support legislation creating a national child stipend that deposits $300 per child into a parent's bank account each month. Not only will this program help all families make ends meet, studies have shown that it will cut childhood poverty by up to 40%. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#monthly-child-stipend) #### Paid Parental Leave The United States is the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee paid parental leave. It is absurd that, in the richest country in the world, we force parents to choose between spending time with their child or uprooting their careers. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#paid-parental-leave) #### Fund Public Education Everyday, I hear from parents in our city who are worried about their children's education — and for good reason. Reading and math scores are at their lowest level in over 20 years; less than half of 3rd graders in California read at grade level; and while our teachers are doing everything they can to help, they are grossly underpaid. Here in San Francisco, our public school system is facing a $110 million budget shortfall and may be forced to close schools. Parents and educators know this is an emergency, so why aren't our leaders in Congress acting like it? [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#fund-public-education) #### Foster Care More than two-thirds of San Franciscan children who enter foster care are placed outside of San Francisco County - more out-of-county placements than anywhere else in the state of California. When this happens, young people are stripped of their communities, and the likelihood of reunification with their family significantly decreases. Many youth would rather live on the streets than lose their community, which is partially why 31% of people who have spent time in foster care report experiencing homelessness at least once by age 26. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#foster-care) ### A Foreign Policy of Peace #### Stop Funding Genocide For the past two years, Netanyahu and his government have waged a barbaric campaign of bombardment, starvation, and psychological terror against the Palestinian people - violating the well-established laws of war and basic human decency. The Israeli regime has blocked the UN and other aid groups from delivering lifesaving supplies to Palestinians, engineered a famine afflicting over two million people, killed more than 60,000 civilians and 250 journalists, and reduced over 80 percent of Gaza's buildings to rubble. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#stop-funding-genocide) #### End the Wars We need to stop bombing and sanctioning countries every chance we get. We’ve destroyed our standing with the world and our unhinged foreign policy is leading us to ruin. We need to have a complete change in our foreign policy to become one where we follow international law and do business with other countries instead of coercing them. We should be doing the modern day version of the Marshall Plan, except this time to help developing nations create their own clean, sustainable, and prosperous economies — that would be a win-win for the United States and the world. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#end-the-wars) #### A Modern Day Marshall Plan Trump's attack on America's foreign aid programs jeopardizes the lives of millions of people and makes Americans less safe. Foreign aid programs help address the root causes of conflict, such as economic insecurity, hunger, and disease. When we pull back from our commitments to the rest of the world, not only does it endanger the lives of millions of people across the globe, it risks creating real security threats for Americans at home. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#modern-day-marshall-plan) #### End the Cuba Embargo For over sixty years, the United States has imposed an economic embargo on Cuba — and for over sixty years, it has failed at everything except inflicting suffering on ordinary Cubans. The embargo is an act of collective punishment, and its impact falls hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable people on the island. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#end-the-cuba-embargo) #### Improve US-China Relations In Congress, I will fight to deescalate our Cold War with China. Our current stance towards China risks escalating into a hot war, and that would be disastrous. Instead, we should move towards cooperation rather than opposition. While we disagree with China on a number of issues, there are major international issues where we must work together including climate change, ending nuclear proliferation, and stopping the risk of existential runaway AI. [Read full policy](https://www.saikat.us/en/policies#us-china-relations) ## Endorsements ### Individual Endorsements - **Rashida Tlaib** — US Representative for MI-12 - **Ilhan Omar** — US Representative for MN-05 - **Hasan Piker** — Political Commentator - **Matt Bernstein** — Political Commentator - **Jamaal Bowman** — Former US Representative - **Chris Rabb** — Congressional Candidate for PA-03 - **Angela Gonzales-Torres** — Congressional Candidate for CA-34 - **Honey Mahogany** — Chair Emerita, San Francisco Democratic Party - **Elise Joshi** — Former Executive Director, Gen-Z for Change - **Chi Ossé** — New York City Council Member - **Peaches Christ** — Drag Performer - **Steven Donziger** — Human Rights Attorney - **Matt Gonzalez** — Chief Attorney, SF Public Defender's Office - **Sameena Usman** — Chair of the Muslim Democrats and Friends of Santa Clara County - **Ron Dudum** — Author and Community Advocate - **Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai** — Environmental Justice Advocate ### Organization Endorsements - Justice Democrats - Gen-Z for Change - Sunrise Movement - Sunrise Bay Area - California Democratic Council - California College Democrats - Stanford Democrats - San Francisco Latino Democratic Club - AROC Action - Democrats for Palestinian Rights - Bay Area - Assyrian Democrats of the Bay Area - Jewish Vote for Peace Action - US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action - PAL PAC - Track AIPAC - The Justice Coalition Action - ASATA Power - Hindus for Human Rights Action - CAIR Action - Muslims United PAC - MPower Action - Peace Action - New American Leaders Action Fund - Patriotic Millionaires - Clean Water Action - Oil Change Action - Track Oil PAC - Future Urbanist Club - Progressive Victory - Work Reform - No Dem Left Behind - Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund - Blue America - Rebellion - Health Care for All - California - Moms Demand Action ## Get Involved - [Volunteer](https://www.saikat.us/en/volunteer): Sign up to volunteer for the campaign - [Events](https://www.saikat.us/en/events): Attend campaign events, canvassing, phone banking - [Endorse](https://www.saikat.us/en/endorse): Endorse Saikat for Congress - [Window Signs](https://www.saikat.us/en/window-signs): Get a window sign for your home or business ## Contact - **Campaign Office:** 800 Irving Street, San Francisco - **Website:** https://www.saikat.us - **Email:** info@saikat.us