A former aide to Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez on Wednesday announced that he is challenging former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her deep blue seat in San Francisco in 2026.

Pelosi has consistently represented her district in the House since 1987, and served as House speaker for nearly 20 years. The 84-year-old has filed paperwork to run for reelection in 2026, but has not publicly commented on the race so far. She easily won reelection in November.

Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, who is 39, praised Pelosi's storied career in his announcement, but said it was time for a new generation of lawmakers. He also cited Pelosi's efforts to keep the New Yorker from serving as the top Democrat on the House Oversight panel.

"Watching [President Donald] Trump and Elon [Musk] freely unleash chaos in their illegal seizure of government, it’s become clear to me that the Democratic Party needs new leadership," Chakrabarti said on X. "I don’t understand how DC’s Democratic leaders are so paralyzed and unprepared for this moment after living through President Trump’s first term — and after Trump and Elon warned us exactly what they planned to do.

“I respect what Nancy Pelosi has accomplished in her career, but we are living in a totally different America than the one she knew when she entered politics 45 years ago," he continued. "America is stuck, and Americans want real solutions that are as big as the problems we face.”

Chakrabarti said he has spent the last five years in San Francisco, leading a think tank that works on solving problems that Americans and Californians were facing.

"Now, I want to bring those solutions to Congress," he insisted. "In this campaign, I’ll be talking about the problems we need to solve for San Francisco, for America, and also about the future of the Democratic Party — and how it can provide an alternative vision of change from Trump and MAGA." 

The announcement is an unexpected entrance into the race. State Sen. Scott Wiener and Pelosi's daughter Christine have long been floated as top replacements for the former speaker if she ever opted out of reelection, according to Politico.