Saikat Chakrabarti loses congressional bid to candidate backed by Ripple’s Chris Larsen

The former AOC chief of staff spent up to $10 million of his own money but finished third in the race to replace Nancy Pelosi.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 3, 2026

Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a onetime Stripe engineer, spent as much as $10 million of his own money trying to win Nancy Pelosi’s old congressional seat. He finished third.

The June 2 Democratic primary for California’s 11th Congressional District went to state Senator Scott Wiener, who captured 41.3% of the vote with 44,521 ballots. San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan came in second at 28.6% with 30,887 votes. Chakrabarti pulled just 14.9%, or 16,118 votes, despite being the highest-spending candidate in the race.

Here’s where it gets interesting for crypto watchers: Wiener’s campaign benefited from the Abundant Future super PAC, which received a $100,000 contribution from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. That PAC ran attack ads targeting Chakrabarti directly.

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The crypto money trail in San Francisco politics

Chakrabarti self-funded between $8.8 million and $10 million for his campaign. That’s an enormous sum for a House race. For context, most competitive congressional campaigns don’t clear $5 million in total spending. He outspent everyone else in the primary and still lost by a wide margin.

Why this seat matters

This wasn’t just any congressional primary. The San Francisco-based seat had been held by Nancy Pelosi since 1987, making this the first open race for the district in nearly four decades.

Connie Chan’s second-place finish further fragmented the progressive lane, splitting votes that might have otherwise gone to Chakrabarti.

What this means for crypto’s political playbook

Larsen’s $100,000 contribution is relatively modest by super PAC standards, but its effectiveness in a targeted race like this amplifies the return on investment. Abundant Future didn’t need to blanket the airwaves nationally. It needed to move a few thousand votes in San Francisco, and the math worked.

Fairshake, the crypto industry’s largest super PAC, spent heavily in the 2024 cycle, and individual donors like Larsen are extending that influence into 2026 races.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.