Top image: Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at a student forum on artificial intelligence at Stanford University in February 2026. Photo: Anderseidesvik / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
“I’m honored that people are encouraging me to run on a platform of Medicare for All, ending foreign wars and taxing the billionaires,” Rep. Ro Khanna said this week. “We need America’s Next New Deal. Whether I run or support someone else is something I will decide with my family after the holidays.”
Khanna gave that statement to NBC News as allies launched “Run Ro,” a draft committee co-chaired by former Rep. Jamaal Bowman and progressive strategist Nomiki Konst. The committee can raise money and build support while the Fremont Democrat weighs a bid, which makes him one of the likeliest contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Asked on MS NOW Thursday night about running, Khanna said, “Yes, I’m thinking about it.”
The launch caps a strong week for Khanna. He won a fifth term in the 17th District with 71.4% of the vote over Republican Ritesh Tandon, 106,947 to 42,779, according to The Ballot Book‘s Saturday tally. “Ro Khanna has shown the work ethic, the humility and the vision that we need in this moment,” Bowman told NBC News. NBC reported that Khanna has been traveling to early primary states for months and that many of his colleagues believe he will run. No candidate has yet entered the field.
The White House view
President Trump has signaled he is open to working with the new Democratic majorities while keeping his veto in reserve. “I’ll get along, probably, with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive, but I have the power of the veto,” he told reporters Wednesday, CBS News reported. On election night he said, “My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country.” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the president “is willing to work with anyone to continue delivering victories for hardworking Americans.” Bis added that Democrats who “pursue sham investigations and radical left policies” would be “choosing to work against the American people.”
Khanna framed the results differently. “This is a tsunami. It is a repudiation of Trump,” he said after the polls closed, predicting Democrats would pass 250 House seats, The Tribune reported.
Khanna’s challengers: one win, one lead, one loss
Khanna went further than most incumbents this year by endorsing three progressive challengers against sitting California Democrats. Angela Gonzales-Torres unseated Rep. Jimmy Gomez in Los Angeles’ 34th District, the AP projected Wednesday, according to LAist. She had 61.9% in The Ballot Book’s latest count.
In the 4th District, which stretches from Napa to the Sierra foothills, first-time candidate Eric Jones led Rep. Mike Thompson 52.6% to 47.4% on Saturday, The Ballot Book shows. The race has not been called. The Press Democrat reported Friday that Thompson’s campaign declined further comment while it waited for a large share of votes still to be counted. Thompson, 75, was first elected in 1998 and is in line to chair the Ways and Means health subcommittee if reelected. Jones has put $15 million of his own money into the race. UC Berkeley political scientist Jake Grumbach told the paper that California voters have tended to favor “establishment” candidates, “despite exceptions like Ro Khanna toppling incumbent Mike Honda in a 2016 Bay Area race.” In Sacramento, Mai Vang trailed Rep. Doris Matsui 44.3% to 55.7%.
A new delegation for a new majority
State Sen. Scott Wiener will succeed Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco after Supervisor Connie Chan conceded Wednesday, CBS San Francisco reported. He led 53.8% to 46.2%. Pelosi, who had endorsed Chan, said, “My office stands ready to assist in the transition, and I wish him success.” Wiener said his first priority would be reversing federal Medicaid cuts, and he also plans to push federal regulation of artificial intelligence. He will be the first LGBTQ member of Congress from Northern California.
In the East Bay’s 14th District, state Sen. Aisha Wahab led fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez 57.5% to 42.5%. South Bay and Peninsula incumbents won easily: Zoe Lofgren had 72.1%, Sam Liccardo 77.0% and Kevin Mullin 78.5%, according to The Ballot Book.
The tech gavels
The majority will put Bay Area members in charge of the panels that oversee the technology industry. Lofgren, the House Science Committee’s top Democrat, said Nov. 4 she will seek the chair. “Americans chose science and reason,” she said. Lofgren promised oversight of what she called “Trump’s politicization of science.” She also said Democrats “need to build responsible regulations for AI while also fostering innovation,” alongside quantum and fusion investment. In the Senate, Maria Cantwell of Washington is expected to return as chair of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Northwest Progressive Institute’s Cascadia Advocate reported. That would make Ted Cruz the likely ranking Republican. The Chronicle previewed both committees’ lame-duck AI agenda last week.
The long view
For two decades, the Bay Area’s power in Washington ran through Pelosi’s leadership office. In 2027 it will run through committee gavels and a possible presidential campaign. Lofgren’s Science chair and Cantwell’s Commerce gavel would shape federal AI and research policy just as Wiener arrives pushing AI regulation. Khanna, whose district includes much of Silicon Valley, would carry the region’s tech-and-economy argument onto a national stage. Whether he runs is his call after the holidays. The draft committee means the organizing has already started.
Sources
- NBC News, “Rep. Ro Khanna allies launch a draft campaign for the 2028 presidential race” (Nov. 5, 2026)
- The Ballot Book, California congressional results (updated Nov. 7, 2026)
- CBS News, “What Trump’s final 2 years in office will look like with Democrats in charge” (Nov. 5, 2026)
- The Tribune, Khanna “tsunami” remarks
- LAist on the 34th District (Nov. 4, 2026)
- The Press Democrat on the 4th District (Nov. 6-7, 2026)
- CBS San Francisco on Wiener’s election (Nov. 6, 2026)
- House Science Committee Democrats, Lofgren statement (Nov. 4, 2026)
- NPI’s Cascadia Advocate on Senate committee chairs
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