SAN FRANCISCO — The shadow campaign to determine who will succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi when she retires has burst into the open — over a Sacramento artificial intelligence proposal.
Pelosi, one of the most powerful Democrats in modern American politics, rarely wades into Sacramento legislative fights. But on Friday night she released a sharply critical statement about a bill to regulate large-scale AI models in California.
It’s one of the biggest legislative debates of the year in California — and its champion, state Sen. Scott Wiener, is widely expected to run for Pelosi’s coveted San Francisco House seat against her daughter, party organizer Christine Pelosi, once the former speaker leaves office.
That’s why Nancy Pelosi’s statement calling Wiener’s bill “well-intentioned but ill-informed” was widely interpreted as a salvo in that brewing proxy fight — the latest in a series of recent escalations that foreshadow a bitter race.
In Pacific-Heights speak, it was an elbow to the face as Pelosi swiped at Wiener’s legislative approach and re-upped Big Tech’s warnings that his proposal could stifle innovation. Pelosi also noted that Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a longtime Pelosi confidant, had expressed “serious concerns” to Wiener.
On several levels, the jab was damaging to Wiener, who has been careful to praise Pelosi even as he prepares to run against her daughter. But advisers in Wiener’s orbit were quick over the weekend to push back, framing Pelosi’s comments as a purely political maneuver.
“She’s trying to line up support for her daughter from Andreessen-Horowitz and Google,” said Todd David, a veteran San Francisco strategist and member of Wiener’s inner circle of advisers.
David speculated that Pelosi is courting favor with Andreessen-Horowitz, a powerful venture capital firm opposed to the AI bill, to weaken Wiener’s support among the tech players the state senator has courted throughout his political career. He added, “She is trying to figure out where Scott's vulnerabilities are.”
Pelosi’s campaign and Christine Pelosi declined to comment on Sunday.
The critique of Wiener's bill isn’t the first hint from Pelosi that she’s angling for her daughter to replace her.
The speaker emerita last month endorsed two progressive incumbents for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including socialist lightning rod Dean Preston — which many local politicos interpreted as a move to court progressives and labor unions, groups that have been alienated by Wiener’s support for more moderate Democrats.
She has also touted Christine on her national book tour. During an interview on MSNBC last week , Pelosi said her daughter had mentored Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the party’s vice-presidential candidate, years ago at a boot camp for Democratic candidates.
Pelosi is running for reelection in November, but San Francisco insiders question if she’ll serve a full term or resign early to boost her daughter’s chances by controlling the timing of a special election.
It’s shaping up to be the type of bruising fight that has earned San Francisco its reputation for sharp-elbowed politics.
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