The Race to Replace the First (and Only) Female Speaker of the House
All eyes on Marie Hurabiell
May 19, 2026
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On November 6, 2025, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced her retirement from Congress.
The Washington Post said that the news ended “a nearly four-decade congressional career that saw her become the first woman speaker of the House and wield more power on Capitol Hill than almost any man has before or — so far — after her.” ABC7 in New York called it “the end of the road for one of the most powerful and iconic Democrats in history.”
Nancy Pelosi is, indeed, one of the most iconic Democrats in U.S. history. After moving to San Francisco in 1969, Pelosi was elected as a Democratic National Committee member in 1976. She went on to become Party chair for Northern California, chair of the state Democratic Party, San Francisco DNC Host Committee Chair, and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee finance Chair.
She won the San Francisco Democratic Congressional primary election in the spring of 1987 and went on to win a special election that June. She became the Democratic Congressional whip in 2001. In 2002, she persuaded a majority of Congressional Democrats to oppose the Gulf War in Iraq. In 2003, she became the House Minority Leader. Finally, in 2007, she became the first female Speaker of the House.
The most logical person to replace her is Marie Hurabiell.
Hurabiell was born and raised in San Francisco. She interned for Pelosi in college where, according to her bio, she “learned that Democratic values are strongest when paired with common sense leadership.” She was originally a Republican, but became a registered Democrat in 2022. She has a Bachelor’s from Georgetown and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 2020, she founded ConnectedSF, a “citywide organization focused on pragmatic solutions, accountability, and results.”
But local media is actively excluding her. The California Globe calls it “deliberate erasure” and a “media and political establishment blackout.” Why?
The reason is that she is a Democrat who defends women’s sex-based rights and the exclusion of male people who refer to themselves as “transgender women” from what are intended to be female-only spaces such as public bathrooms and gym locker rooms.
In other words, Hurabiell understands that a woman is an adult human female and is not afraid to say so.
This should not be controversial. According to a 2023 survey commissioned by the group Women’s Declaration International USA (WDI USA), 4 in 5 voters understand that the word “women” means adult humans who are biologically female.
Nancy Pelosi knows that a woman is an adult human female (even though she has consistently pretended that some men are women in public statements and in policy). She recently told MS NOW that Americans are receptive to female leaders (but said she may not see a woman president in her lifetime “because I’m old”). She added: “But it will come sometime, there’s just no question about it. It’s not that women are better than men, it’s just we want to see the diversity of thinking there. It’s going to be very exciting.”
It’s not going to be “very exciting,” though, if Scott Wiener gets his way. Wiener is a California state senator who has done more than perhaps anyone to shred the rights of women and children in California.
Scott Wiener was born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey. He moved to San Francisco in 1997 to work at a law firm and quickly went on to work for city government. He became a member of the California state senate in 2016.
Wiener is notorious for sponsoring bills that shred the rights of women and children.
He sponsored California’s SB 132, which allows male convicted rapists and murderers to be housed in the two women’s prisons in the state. The law permits men to be housed in the women’s prison if the men refer to themselves as “transgender.” One such man to be housed in the women’s prison is Tremaine Carroll, who has been charged with two counts of raping female inmates. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating that and other incidents in both California and Maine.
Because of numerous laws that Wiener has sponsored that make it difficult for law enforcement to crack down on child sex trafficking, he has turned California into what journalist Abigail Shrier has referred to as a “predator’s paradise.”
Hurabiell and Wiener are not the only candidates in this race. There are plenty of others. On June 2, all of them will face each other in a top-two race for the general election in November. But Marie is on record as stating that one of her primary reasons for entering the race was that Wiener is the front-runner and that he is simply not a good fit to represent San Francisco or to serve in Congress at all.
Yesterday, Pelosi endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan. That is a stinging rebuke to Wiener, and should take votes away from him.
This is our chance to save Congress and the country from a man who has effectively turned the state of California into a haven for human trafficking.
This race is not just about who will represent the people of San Francisco in Congress. It’s about who is qualified to serve, who will replace our nation’s first and only female Speaker of the House, and who is the best fit to carry on Nancy Pelosi’s legacy. The character of the nation is at stake in this election. Everyone should be watching Marie Hurabiell.
Read about her campaign and reach out here.
Check out these upcoming SF events (all of which have a free option), and share them with anyone you know in the SF Bay Area:
May 19 Marina: secure.actblue.com/donate/event.519.kathryninglin
May 20 Pacific Heights: secure.actblue.com/donate/event.520.tandler
May 20 Jordan Park: secure.actblue.com/donate/event.520.greenfieldpaul
May 22 SOMA: secure.actblue.com/donate/event.5.22.cookston
Anyone who shreds the rights of women and children is a predator, imo. His sponsorship of SB 132 leaves no doubt about his malice and predatory nature. I wish Marie Hurabiell well and hope she wins her race.
Scott Wiener is surely the most disgusting and utterly contemptible man to run for office. It will be a sad day for the citizens of California and for the country were he to be elected. Let’s pray that never happens.