Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff plans to mount a primary campaign against one of his former boss’ main antagonists in Congress: Nancy Pelosi.
Saikat Chakrabarti wants to unseat the 84-year-old, who is running for her 21st term.
Though it is his first run for public office, Chakrabarti is no stranger to politics.
After a career in tech, Chakrabarti worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. He then helped launch the career of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as part of his organization, Brand New Congress, which aimed to promote progressive candidates in congressional races.
From there, he served as Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager and first chief of staff before returning to San Francisco.
Now, Chakrabarti has his sights set on Congress.
“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,” the 39-year-old wrote in an X post. “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.”
Chakrabarti expressed his “respect” for Pelosi but explained that America today is very different from the one that existed about 45 years ago, when Pelosi first entered politics. He referenced the former house speaker’s Aug. 9, 2024, interview with journalist Ezra Klein and said, “Pelosi said the Democrats don’t need to change. I disagree.”
He added: “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.”
Chakrabarti compared today’s higher cost of living to when Pelosi was first elected to Congress, when: “You could buy a home on a single income ... a summer job could pay for college ... and Republicans believed in climate change and respected election results.”
He said that the American Dream has been redefined and that the Democratic Party has to adjust accordingly.
“The Republican Party is overtly conspiratorial and anti-democracy,” he said. “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.”
Chakrabarti, originally from Texas, claims that the Democratic Party needs “real solutions” and that he can help deliver them.
Instead of spending his time talking to donors for money, he said he plans to talk to voters instead.
