Less than two weeks before the 2026 US midterms, progressive candidate Connie Chan held a rally in her bid to step into the seat of outgoing Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
She didn’t hold back in calling for an arms embargo on Israel, the abolition of ICE and to take money out of politics.
Tuesday evening, at the University of California, Berkeley, Chan, a San Francisco supervisor who is running for San Francisco’s District 11, told a crowd of several hundred: "We deserve better."
She was joined by Congress members Ro Khanna and Aisha Wahab, congressional candidate Angela Gonzales-Torres and other progressive leaders.
She was standing on the university’s Savio Steps at Sproul Plaza, a site known for free speech and anti-war activism, a symbolic venue for a candidate who, if elected to one of the most prominent seats in Congress, would try to make profound changes to the Democratic Party.
"This is our moment and we have to meet this moment," she said.
In her speech, she railed against AI, ICE corporate funding of elections and billionaires, and urged for the funding of universal healthcare.
"We need to fund Medicare right now. We need to abolish ICE right now," she said.
She spent a significant portion of her speech emphasising the importance of using her platform to advocate for Palestinians.
"This is a moment that we also have to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian community," she said, as she was met with some of the loudest applause of the evening.
"It is a moment that requires leadership and moral clarity that we demand our Congress be able to cast their vote, our vote, with conscience to end the genocide in Gaza and to end apartheid state," she said. "We must call for a full arms embargo. We will not rest until we have a full arms embargo on the Israeli government."
"Let’s not look the other way. We cannot look the other way. We cannot allow politicians, anyone, to look the other way and give us simply lip service. People in Gaza deserve more than lip service. They deserve a vote," she added.
Chan’s opponent, Scott Wiener, a California state senator, also a Democrat, is considered the more moderate option in the race. He is supported by the business community, large AI companies and the Democratic Party establishment.
Chan, who is considered the underdog in the race, trailing Wiener in a tight race, is supported by Pelosi, Bernie Sanders and the Working Families Party.