Christine Pelosi said at a Saturday event that she is “not running against” Supervisor Connie Chan “ever,” pushing back on speculation that Rep. Nancy Pelosi had only endorsed Chan so she could serve as a placeholder for her daughter.
“I heard a cockamamie thing that somehow we’re endorsing Connie so I can run against her,” Christine Pelosi told Chan and a few dozen of her supporters and donors at a Saturday afternoon house party in the Mission District titled “Women for Connie Chan.”
“I’m running for state senate,” she continued. “I’m not running against you, ever, so let’s just be clear.”
Her remarks appeared to be a response to a rumor that has gained traction since the May 18 endorsement of Chan by Pelosi, and even surfaced in the San Francisco Chronicle’s endorsement of Sen. Scott Wiener this weekend.
The Chronicle pointed to whispers that “Pelosi is not-so-secretly trying to keep the seat warm” for her daughter, citing a Boston Globe opinion piece and implying that the Speaker Emerita is only supporting Chan so she can be later knocked out by Christine Pelosi.
The younger Pelosi pushed back on that Saturday.
“They have all sorts of crazy things that they come up with because they can’t really understand where all your momentum is coming from,” she said. “But we know where it is. Labor knows where it is, the community that believes in you knows where the momentum is coming from. It’s coming from the people.”
In a statement, Chan’s campaign spokesperson Ian Krager said, “Connie’s focus is on San Francisco working families who deserve better than the baseless conspiracy theories of Scott Wiener’s desperate campaign.”
Since endorsing Chan two weeks before the June primary, Speaker Emerita Pelosi has thrown her full support behind her handpicked successor. She has held fundraisers, helped secure endorsements and sent a trusted aide to bolster Chan’s campaign.
“We want it to be a nice big victory for Connie Chan for Congress of the United States,” Pelosi said during an August fundraiser for Chan in Chinatown.
Saturday’s event was also attended by supervisors Jackie Fielder, Chyanne Chen and former supervisor Sophie Maxwell.
Disclosure: The Connie Chan house party was hosted by a member of Mission Local’s board.
