REPORT: Former top AOC aide announces primary challenge to Pelosi

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From Fox News: The former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday his intention to run against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calling the Democratic Party “paralyzed and unprepared” for President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

In a lengthy message on X, Saikat Chakrabarti said he decided to run against the former House speaker, who is seeking a 21st term, after “watching Trump and Elon (Musk) freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government.”

Chakrabarti, who helped manage Ocasio-Cortez’s upstart 2018 campaign, left his chief of staff position in 2019 after drawing the ire of Democrats when he publicly criticized party moderates during policy spats between progressive members and party leadership.

Chakrabarti, 39, was born and raised to an Indian Bengali Hindu family in Fort Worth, Texas.  He joined socialist Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2015.  After President Trump won the 2016 election, Chakrabarti co-founded a progressive group called “Justice Democrats.”

Justice Democrats then recruited Democrat socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress to oust longtime Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley.

Chakrabarti led several progressive groups, along with AOC’s staff, to write the “Green New Deal” legislation.   He was also helped develop the Justice Democrats’ platform, which included a call to abolish ICE.

Now Chakrabarti is going after Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat.

Below is Chakrabarti’s entire announcement, which he posted on X Wednesday afternoon:

I’ve got some news: I’ve decided to run against Nancy Pelosi to represent San Francisco in Congress. I know some of you might be surprised that Speaker Emeritus Pelosi is running again, but she is — for her 21st term!

Watching Trump and Elon freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership. I don’t understand how DC’s Democratic leaders are so paralyzed and unprepared for this moment after living through President Trump’s first term — and after Trump and Elon warned us exactly what they planned to do.

I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago. In an interview with Ezra Klein after Trump’s victory, Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree. When Democrats were about to appoint their star communicator — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — to chair the powerful Oversight committee to hold Trump and his cronies accountable, Pelosi personally intervened to block it.

When Nancy Pelosi was first elected to Congress, you could buy a home on a single income. A summer job could pay for college. Republicans believed in climate change and respected election results. Now, the things that defined the American Dream — being able to afford health care, education, a home, and raise a family — are impossible for most people. And the Republican Party is overtly conspiratorial and anti-democracy. 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.

After a career in tech, I joined the Bernie campaign in 2016 because I wanted to be a part of solving those problems. I launched a project to elect a new generation of leaders, and one of them was Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. After serving as her campaign manger and first chief of staff, I returned to San Francisco where for five years I’ve led a policy think tank that develops comprehensive solutions to the problems that both America and San Francisco face.

Now, I want to bring those solutions to Congress. I’m going to run a very different kind of campaign than most. Instead of spending hours each day doing “call time” with big money donors — I’m going to spend every day talking with voters. I know! What a radical idea!

You can sign up for a zoom call on my campaign website. You can also sign up to volunteer or organize a house meeting in San Francisco. I promise never to share your data with anyone, or spam you with breathless pleas for money.

In this campaign, I’ll be talking about the problems we need to solve for San Francisco, for America, and also about the future of the Democratic Party — and how it can provide an alternative vision of change from Trump and MAGA. In addition to daily conversations with district residents, I’ll also be holding weekly Zoom calls open to anyone to talk about national issues and the future of the Democratic Party.

I know it might seem it’s a little early to start running. But the fact is, it’s almost impossible to defeat incumbents in our system — even at a time when both Congress and the Democratic Party stand at record-low approval ratings. Winning this campaign will require months of organizing — online and on the street — to connect with every single voter in San Francisco. I’m excited for the work. And I hope to see you in person or on a Zoom call soon!

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