Congress
Nancy Pelosi’s successor headlines the latest round of calls
California state Sen. Scott Wiener has officially won his bid to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Congress, The Associated Press projected Friday afternoon, as Republicans shored up their ranks with victories in three ruby red seats by smaller-than-expected margins.
Wiener bested San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan by 9 percentage points in an expensive, heated Democrat-on-Democrat race that pitted the city’s liberal factions against each other. Chan had the endorsement of Pelosi — as well as Saikat Chakrabarti, who finished third in the June primary. She occupied the more progressive lane.
But it wasn’t enough to compete with Wiener, who spent nearly a decade in the state Senate and raised millions of dollars to win a seat he long coveted. Chan has already conceded to Wiener on Wednesday.
Friday also brought welcome news for the GOP, which saw Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) reelected to his House seat and Republicans Mark Lamb and Anthony Constantino elected in Arizona and New York, respectively.
Lamb and Constantino were almost felled by the blue wave that saw Democrats take over the House and Senate with massive majorities. Retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) won Constantino’s seat by more than 24 percentage points in 2024.
Constantino — who has spent the time since Election Day publicly feuding with other Empire State Republicans on social media — defeated Democrat Blake Gendebien by fewer than 6,000 votes.