Nancy Pelosi’s Hand-Picked Successor Loses To Dem Who Wanted To Protect Sex Offenders

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attempted to hand-pick her successor on her way out of Congress, but San Francisco voters rejected her candidate in favor of a state senator who fought a blanket ban on registered sex offenders holding office.

Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, conceded the election to state Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA) on Wednesday with ballots still being counted.

“After reviewing the results and the ballots remaining to be counted, while we expect the margin to narrow significantly, we do not have a clear path to victory. I congratulate Scott Wiener on his election and wish him success in serving San Francisco,” Chan said in a statement. At the time of her concession, Wiener was leading by about 11 points.

Pelosi endorsed Chan two weeks before California’s June primary. At an event in August, she said, “Nobody knows Congress better than I do. Nobody. And I think she would be the best member of Congress.”

But Pelosi’s influence was not enough to get Chan across the finish line.

As The Daily Wire previously reported, Wiener made no attempts in recent years to hide the fact that he was gunning for Pelosi’s seat. He had previously said he would not run for the seat until Pelosi announced her retirement, but ultimately jumped into the race before she announced that she would not seek another term.

Some suggested his timing prompted Pelosi to root for his opposition — and others wondered whether she endorsed Chan because Wiener’s announcement undercut a potential run by her own daughter, Christine Pelosi, for the seat.

Wiener has been serving in the California State Senate since 2016, but raised eyebrows for opposing a blanket ban on registered sex offenders holding office. In August, Senate Democrats rejected an amendment to AB2691 that would have broadened the bill’s restrictions to cover all three tiers of California’s sex offender registry.

“Right now in California, someone convicted of sexually abusing a child can still sit on your school board. That’s not a loophole. That’s a choice. And in my perspective, and most, that’s wrong,” state Sen. Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, said at the time.

Wiener argued, however, that a blanket ban based on California’s sex offender registry would cast too wide a net and disqualify people he thought should not be barred from holding office.

Explaining that not every person on the state’s registry was there because of violent, predatory acts, Wiener argued that the amendment would unfairly punish “a gay guy who had sex in a park or in a car and got arrested.”

“Sex offender registry is not punishment. It is a tool for law enforcement to be able to monitor people who may potentially cause a risk. And when we use the sex offender registry as a proxy for anything else, we get into problems,” Wiener said, arguing that the registry should not be used to disqualify people from holding public office.

“I’m a mom. This one isn’t complicated for me. Today, 40 senators had the chance to say convicted sex offenders should NEVER hold public office in California. Ten Republicans stood up to vote for what is right,” Valladares told Fox News Digital in late August. “My amendments would have closed the door. No loopholes. No exceptions. No convicted sex offenders serving in positions of public trust, including on our school boards. Protecting our kids should NEVER be partisan. I’m deeply disappointed, and I’m not done fighting.”

Wiener voted for the narrower bill. It passed the Legislature in August and was signed into law on September 27.

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