2026 California's 11th Congressional District Election

The 2026 election for California's 11th Congressional District will determine who represents the San Francisco-based district in the U.S. House of Representatives, following the retirement of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who first won the seat in 1987. State Senator Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, both Democrats, advanced from the June 2 top-two primary and will face off in the November 3 general election.

Because California's top-two system allowed two Democrats to advance, the race is one of several same-party general elections in the state and is rated Solid/Safe Democratic by major forecasters. The contest highlights a contrast within the party: Wiener runs as a more moderate, pro-housing candidate emphasizing legislative results, while Chan runs as a more progressive candidate focused on affordability and community input, and has been endorsed by Pelosi, former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, and former rival Saikat Chakrabarti.

At the first general-election debate on Oct. 1, 2026, co-hosted by KQED and the San Francisco Chronicle, AI regulation emerged as a central issue: Wiener pointed to his SB 53 AI-safety law and apologized for his campaign's parody AI chatbot that mimicked Chan, while Chan called for a moratorium on new data centers and restrictions on "superintelligence." Housing policy remains a central fault line, and the San Francisco Chronicle has endorsed Wiener.