Scott Wiener will be San Francisco’s first-ever LGBTQ representative in Congress after his opponent conceded Wednesday in the election to replace House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan conceded to Wiener a day after Tuesday’s election for the District 11 seat in Congress. Wiener had 55.46% of the vote compared to 44.54% for Chan among the more than 176,000 votes counted as of Wednesday afternoon.
He will replace Pelosi, who announced last year that she would retire after serving in Congress for nearly 40 years and being the first woman elected by her peers to be speaker of the House of Representatives.
Wiener served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before being elected in 2016 to the state Senate, where he has served since then. Chan represents the Richmond District and other neighborhoods on the western side of the city on the Board of Supervisors and had received Pelosi’s endorsement in the election.
“Thank you, San Francisco. I’m deeply grateful for the trust voters have placed in me, and I’m ready to get to work for you,” Wiener said in a statement. “I want to thank Supervisor Connie Chan for a spirited and hard-fought campaign. We’ve had our disagreements, but we share a deep love for San Francisco and for our country.”
Chan in a separate statement said her campaign expects the margin to narrow as more votes are counted, but not enough to lead to a victory in the race between two Democrats who were the top two finishers in the June primary race.
“I congratulate Scott Wiener on his election and wish him success in serving San Francisco,” she said.
Pelosi’s office sent a statement about the result of the race to replace her, expressing pride in Chan’s campaign and congratulations to Wiener.
“Representing San Francisco is an extraordinary honor and a profound responsibility. My office stands ready to assist in the transition, and I wish him success in service for the people of our city,” Pelosi said.
Wiener noted the historic nature of his election as the city’s first LGBTQ representative in Congress.
“When I stepped off the escalator at Castro Muni Station in 1997 and fell head over heels for this city, I could never have imagined this honor,” Wiener said.
