Saikat Chakrabarti, a wealthy left-leaning entrepreneur, made headlines recently with his ambitious yet unsuccessful attempt to succeed Nancy Pelosi in representing San Francisco in Congress. Despite pouring nearly $10 million of his fortune into the race, Chakrabarti’s campaign fell flat, failing to take him past the primary stage.
Chakrabarti’s defeat was a sobering one, characterized not only by the unimpressive outcome—securing victory in just a single precinct—but also by the financial implications of his loss. As analyzed by Mission Local, the expenditure per vote was staggering, underscoring the financial blow Chakrabarti endured.
The former aide to progressive icon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez managed to gather 42,049 votes, translating to a hefty $211.3 spent per vote. This culminated in an expenditure of approximately $8.85 million—a startling figure, especially when compared to his competitors.
In stark contrast, Chakrabarti’s main rivals employed far more budget-conscious strategies. State Senator Scott Wiener emerged as the frontrunner with $5.86 million, a sum sourced from both his campaign and external supporters. City Supervisor Connie Chan, buoyed by Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement, advanced with a relatively modest backing of $1.75 million.
Chakrabarti’s strategy ultimately yielded spending that was eightfold higher per vote compared to Chan’s, setting a city record for the amount spent per vote. Despite the significant push, the approach proved ineffective, leaving Chan and Wiener to contend for the congressional seat this November.
The unimpressive results clash with Chakrabarti’s explanation for his loss. In his concession statement, the flopped candidate claimed he couldn’t overcome “the 7 million dollars of AI, crypto, and AIPAC money that were put into this race.”
In reality, the endorsement of Chan by Pelosi and claims he wasn’t deeply rooted in the city hurt his bid, and his money did not overcome those hurdles.
Chakrabarti is still continuing to spend despite his loss. He endorsed Chan and made offers to about 220 campaign employees to work on her behalf, outlets reported.
Chakrabarti, a former Stripe exec, had staked out a lane in the race as the most left-leaning candidate, even appearing with controversial leftist streamer Hasan Piker.
Chakrabarti was best known for his tenure as Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, but that stint ended after his spat with congressional Democratic leadership that included Pelosi.
With more than 95% of the votes in, he finished with almost 18% of the vote share in this month’s primary. Wiener had almost 41% while Chan had 30%.