AIPAC-linked groups pour money into Chan’s congressional bid

AIPAC-linked money has pushed into San Francisco’s open-seat race for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, with United Democracy Project and Democratic Majority for Israel directing hundreds of thousands of dollars through super PACs backing Supervisor Connie Chan as the June 2 top-two primary approached. It is the city’s first open-seat congressional contest since 1987, and the field is crowded: eight Democrats, two Republicans and one independent are running in California’s 11th Congressional District.

The Federal Election Commission lists United Democracy Project as an active independent-expenditure-only committee registered on Jan. 3, 2022. By April 30, 2026, it had reported $93,798,362.49 in total receipts and $8,715,797.02 in independent expenditures for the 2025-26 cycle, with cash on hand of $94,841,497.19. The structure matters: UDP cannot donate directly to Chan, but it can spend unlimited sums on outside expenditures meant to influence voters without coordinating with her campaign.

Chan’s own fundraising has been far smaller. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that she had raised about $459,000 and spent about $302,000 by the March 31 reporting period, while the FEC showed her campaign, Connie Chan for Congress, with $72,017.18 in cash on hand as of May 13. By comparison, state Sen. Scott Wiener had raised almost $4 million and former congressional aide Saikat Chakrabarti had raised more than $9 million, much of it from a self-loan. Pelosi endorsed Chan on May 18 and spent the final weekend campaigning for her, while Chan also drew support from the California Teachers Association, National Nurses United, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the San Francisco Labor Council and SEIU.

The money race is unfolding alongside a fight over Israel and Gaza that has shaped nearly every major forum in the district. Mission Local reported that Chan, Wiener and Chakrabarti have been pressed on military aid, an immediate permanent arms embargo and sanctions on Israel. JWeekly reported in April that all three leading Democrats said Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, underscoring how sharply the issue has defined the campaign.

For voters, the key question is not just who is raising money, but who is trying to shape the race from outside the candidates’ own committees. The FEC filings show the scale of that effort, the sources of the spending and the gap between Chan’s campaign account and the independent money flowing into the district. In Pelosi’s old seat, the paper trail is now part of the ballot-choice itself.