State Sen. Scott Wiener is entering Tuesday’s election favored to succeed Nancy Pelosi in Congress, with a sprawling voter outreach effort supporting his bid. Facing San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, Pelosi’s preferred successor, Wiener is pressing for votes across the city, including from a campaign office in the Richmond, within Chan’s supervisorial district.
Internal figures provided to The San Francisco Standard project that Wiener’s yearlong campaign will have knocked on more than 311,000 doors by Election Day. The operation also reports 240,000 phone calls and 2.3 million text messages, alongside outreach in Cantonese and Spanish. Its field effort has visited 90% of the approximately 345,000 households in California’s 11th Congressional District, which encompasses most of San Francisco.
The campaign has 48 paid, full-time canvassers organizing hundreds of volunteers and plans six door-knocking events a day through Election Day, with additional activity during the final weekend. Canvassing and phone banks have identified nearly 50,000 people who say they intend to support Wiener. Chan, who has union backing but less campaign money and outside super PAC support, acknowledges that she cannot match his paid canvassing operation.
Despite advantages in fundraising and name recognition, Wiener faces uncertainty among Chinese-speaking voters and liberal-leaning women. Polling indicates that both groups are divided and could favor Chan, who has emphasized being a working mother and an immigrant from Hong Kong. Wiener’s strategy combines competing in difficult neighborhoods with encouraging turnout in strongholds such as Noe Valley and the Castro.
Much of the field operation’s funding comes through Families for an Affordable SF, a super PAC led by longtime Wiener adviser Todd David. The group has spent at least $2.3 million supporting Wiener, with nearly $1.5 million in donations coming from three carpenters’ union affiliates. Chan’s campaign has alleged illegal coordination between Wiener and the PAC. A 2024 Federal Election Commission advisory opinion, however, permits candidates and PACs to coordinate canvassing.
David argues that personal outreach can determine the outcome of a tight contest, saying a strong canvassing program can typically shift a competitive race by 3 to 4 percentage points. Speaking Friday near a Muni stop in Duboce Triangle, Wiener similarly stressed the importance of reaching voters directly. “We’re ceding nothing,” he said.
On the west side, organizer Olivia Reynolds said affordability and residents’ ability to remain in San Francisco guide the campaign’s conversations. Her team has operated a weekly table at the Clement Street farmers market since last November. Concerns from young families about housing costs provide an opening to discuss Wiener’s pro-housing record.
Elizabeth Lam, who directs Cantonese-language outreach, relies substantially on volunteers, including seniors traveling from Chinatown to work phone banks at the Richmond office. The campaign reports about 22,000 contacts with Cantonese-speaking voters. Lam said neighborhood safety and whether grandchildren will be able to live in San Francisco are among the concerns voters raise.
The campaign has also sought voters through 78 house parties, a Bayview barbecue town hall, the Bay to Breakers race and bar crawls in several neighborhoods. Wiener, who started preparing for the race as early as spring 2023, said the demanding schedule reflects his approach to public service. “The minute you’re not rooted anymore in your community, you become a less effective representative,” he said.
