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Saikat Chakrabarti echoes Mamdani's message in SF congressional run
Drawing parallels between Mamdani’s grassroots triumph and his own campaign, Chakrabarti emphasized his commitment to “bold change” and taking on corporate interests.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 05, Nov 2025
- 15:31 EST
- 19
Saikat Chakrabarti / X (Saikat Chakrabarti)
Progressive congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti from California invoked the victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral race to energize supporters in his own bid to represent San Francisco in Congress.
“Congratulations Mayor Mamdani! Isn’t that fun to say?” Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, said in a campaign video released Nov. 5.
Also Read: Saikat Chakrabarti calls for change in democratic leadership
“Zohran just proved that it doesn’t matter how much money you throw at you. Organized people will defeat organized money if you stand for real change,” he added.
Congrats Mayor Mamdani! Zohran proved it doesn’t matter how much money they throw at you. Organized people beat organized money if you stand for real change.
— Saikat Chakrabarti for Congress (@saikatc) November 5, 2025
We’re doing that in SF. 2k+ volunteers have knocked 40k+ doors because our campaign is about bold change. Join us! pic.twitter.com/dvTAJ8I8ER
Drawing parallels between Mamdani’s grassroots triumph and his own campaign, Chakrabarti emphasized his commitment to “bold change” and taking on corporate interests.
“This is a campaign about finally guaranteeing healthcare as a human right to everybody,” he said, highlighting housing affordability, public power, and ending corporate influence as key priorities.
Chakrabarti said his campaign has “over 2,000 volunteers” who have “knocked on over 40,000 doors” across San Francisco, with more than 7,000 individual donors contributing an average of $34 each. “I’m not taking any corporate or lobbyist money, and I don’t have any super PACs on my side,” he noted.
In a post accompanying the video, he wrote, “Zohran proved it doesn’t matter how much money they throw at you. Organized people beat organized money if you stand for real change. We’re doing that in SF.”
Chakrabarti, who announced his run earlier this year for the 2026 Democratic primary in California’s 11th Congressional District — currently held by Nancy Pelosi — has positioned his campaign as a progressive challenge built on grassroots mobilization and systemic reform.
He told the media that the Democratic Party is “paralysed and unprepared” for the challenges of a second Trump era.
A former Silicon Valley engineer and political operative, Chakrabarti holds a computer science degree from Harvard University. He was one of the early engineers at payment-platform company Stripe and played a key role in managing Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 upset primary victory in New York.
His platform emphasizes universal healthcare, construction of affordable housing, municipal public power, and the removal of corporate influence in politics — echoing the message in his campaign video.
By invoking Mamdani’s victory, Chakrabarti cast his campaign as part of a broader movement for “people-powered change.”
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