Saikat Chakrabarti: "The Power of People, The Promise of Progress"

Saikat Chakrabarti, who is running as a Democrat for California’s 11th congressional seat that is
now held by Nancy Pelosi, will speak on lessons he learned inside Congress about why big ideas
often fail, and how grassroots movements can break through entrenched political barriers. His
vision for making government work for ordinary people again, from tackling housing and
affordability crises to reining in corporate influence. How progressive campaigns like Zohran
Mamdani’s in NYC and now Saikat’s in San Francisco can inspire new voters, unite communities,
and win transformative change for us all.

Saikat Chakrabarti is a software engineer turned political strategist, best known for co-founding Justice Democrats and serving as Chief of Staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, where he led the creation of the Green New Deal. After building tools for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign and helping elect a new generation of progressive leaders, he now leads a policy think tank focused on delivering economic prosperity through a clean energy future. Today, he’s challenging Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s 2026 Democratic primary to bring bold, new leadership to Congress.