Saikat Chakrabarti

Background

Saikat Chakrabarti is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative in California's 11th congressional district in the 2026 election cycle. He previously served as chief of staff to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and resigned from that role in August 2019. Chakrabarti co-founded the progressive organizations Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress, and he led the development of the Green New Deal resolution submitted to Congress in 2019. He announced his candidacy for the 2026 U.S. House election in California's 11th district on February 5, 2025, and formally launched his campaign on October 9, 2025. According to Federal Election Commission filings for the 2026 cycle, Chakrabarti raised $9,236,822, spent $8,851,942, and reported $384,881 in cash on hand.

Summary compiled from cited public records. Sources: Official candidate filing records; Federal Election Commission; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saikat_Chakrabarti; politico.com/story/2019/08/02/aoc-staff-saikat-chakr…; grokipedia.com/page/Saikat_Chakrabarti.

Sourced summary

Saikat Chakrabarti is listed by the FEC as a Democrat candidate for U.S. api.open.fec.gov

FEC totals for the 2026 cycle report that Saikat Chakrabarti raised $9,236,822, spent $8,851,942, reported $384,881 cash on hand. api.open.fec.gov

[Grokipedia: Political Activism and Organizations] Bernie Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign Saikat Chakrabarti joined Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential grokipedia.com

FEC totals for the 2026 cycle report that Saikat Chakrabarti raised $5,180,895, spent $4,972,237, reported $208,658 cash on hand. api.open.fec.gov

[Grokipedia: Personal Life] Family and Relationships Chakrabarti was born in Kolkata, India, to parents Suravi and Somnath Chakrabarti.[69] His father, Somnath grokipedia.com

[Grokipedia: Pre-Political Career] Technology and Software Engineering Roles Following his graduation from Harvard University with a degree in computer science grokipedia.com

[Grokipedia: Background] Early Life and Family Origins Saikat Chakrabarti was born in Texas in 1986 to parents who immigrated from India.[9] [10] His father grokipedia.com

[Grokipedia: Post-AOC Activities] Leadership at New Consensus Chakrabarti assumed the role of co-founder and president of New Consensus, a progressive think grokipedia.com

Claim timeline

Saikat Chakrabarti is listed by the FEC as a Democratic candidate for U.S. api.open.fec.gov Retrieved 2026-05-07.

[Grokipedia: Service as Chief of Staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] Appointment and Operational Role Saikat Chakrabarti transitioned from co-campaign manager grokipedia.com Retrieved 2026-05-13.

[Grokipedia: 2026 Congressional Campaign] Campaign Announcement and Platform Saikat Chakrabarti formally launched his campaign for California's 11th grokipedia.com Retrieved 2026-05-13.

[Grokipedia: Lead] Saikat Chakrabarti is an American software engineer and political strategist who co-founded the progressive organizations Justice Democrats grokipedia.com Retrieved 2026-05-13.

[Wikipedia: 2026 congressional campaign] On February 5, 2025, Chakrabarti announced his candidacy for California's 11th congressional district in 2026 en.wikipedia.org Retrieved 2026-05-13.