Wiener, Chan advance to November in race for Pelosi's House seat

State Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan advanced to the November general election Tuesday, topping a crowded primary field to succeed Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in California's 11th Congressional District.

The outcome shapes federal representation for a San Francisco district long held by Pelosi, with implications for immigration and Asian-American community priorities that extend to the broader California diaspora, including the Korean-American communities of Orange County.

With 49% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, Wiener led the field with 41% of the vote — 44,521 ballots — while Chan claimed second place at 29%, or 30,887 votes, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

Chakrabarti, who spent approximately $10 million of his own money on the race, fell to third place and was eliminated.

Pelosi's endorsement of Chan, announced less than three weeks before election day, appeared to boost the supervisor into the general election. Chan also secured support from teachers and firefighters unions, the only candidate in the primary to do so.

Wiener said the narrowed field would sharpen the fall campaign. "It's a much more focused race now because now it will be two candidates as opposed to three or four. Once it becomes two candidates, it becomes a choice between two people and it's a very, very crisp and focused choice for voters and it's more of a straight forward kind of campaign," Wiener said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

Chan, who is targeting younger and working-class voters, said her coalition gave her confidence heading into November. "We have Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on our side and so many more but you see we've got the excitement from young voters and working people. We are the only candidate endorsed by teachers and firefighters. we've got it going for us," Chan said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The November general election will match Wiener against Chan in a two-candidate contest for one of California's most prominent congressional seats, with the district set to change hands for the first time in decades.