From Newsgroup: talk.politics.misc

The heated San Francisco race to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi is rapidly
becoming the most expensive contest of the election cycle, as Saikat Chakrabarti pours millions of his own wealth into his campaign.

Chakrabarti, a tech engineer and former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-funded more than $4.8 million for his campaign through March 31, according to financial filings released Wednesday.

Excluding personal contributions, he has raised about $61,000 from donors
this year. His total raised from donors is $360,000.

“We’ve gotten more than 13,000 contributions to date, with an average
donation of $27,” Chakrabarti’s campaign spokesperson, Tiffaney Bradley,
said. “That’s what a grassroots campaign looks like.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener, who is leading in most polls and has been eyeing
the House seat since 2023, has raised more than $3.4 million, a 25%
increase since the last filing in late January. More than 3,300
individuals have donated to Wiener, the campaign said.

Wiener’s campaign this week launched a seven-figure television ad buy,
with one spot featuring a giraffe(opens in new tab) at the San Francisco
Zoo as a playful nod to the candidate’s 6-foot-7 stature and nickname in
the Chinese community.

Chakrabarti has also been on the air since March. His campaign has spent
more than $3 million since the beginning of this year.

The rivalry between Wiener and Chakrabarti has grown increasingly
contentious in recent weeks, with sharp exchanges on social media and
clashes on the debate stage. An outside spending group backing Wiener sent
out mailers to attack Chakrabarti, and a mysterious van(opens in new tab) questioning the former Stripe employee’s San Francisco bona fides has
appeared around the city.

https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/16/campaign-self-fund-saikat-chakrabarti/

--- Synchronet 3.21f-FreeBSD NewsLink 1.2