House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who is now mere months away from a well-deserved retirement, says she's been sitting back and trying to gauge the public's reaction to the candidates running for her seat.

Maybe she's still miffed at Scott Wiener for announcing his candidacy for Congress last fall before she had formalized her retirement plans. Maybe she's trying to give a nod to the powerful unions in SF that have thrown their weight behind progressive Supervisor Connie Chan. Whatever the reason, Nancy Pelosi has stayed mum this primary season about who she wants to see take her seat in the House of Representatives.

One thing that's certain, however: It'll probably be a cold day in hell before she endorses Saikat Chakrabarti, given what we know about her first impressions of him as a congressional aide seven years ago.

Pelosi has been quietly backing Chan since last October, inviting her as the only city official to speak alongside her at a rally with local unions in support of Prop 50, and posing for pictures with her in the weeks before the retirement announcement. And, tellingly, Chan used a photo of her beside Pelosi in her first campaign ad, saying that she stood "on the shoulders of those who came before me and fought for the same values."

Pelosi took her time making her retirement plans public, opting to wait until after Election Day in order not to distract from the Prop 50 vote. And she's similarly slow-walking her endorsement, perhaps because she doesn't want to have to give more than one, or she may never give one at all, as her spokesperson has said she won't — and if Chan is her chosen successor, it is looking likelier that Chan will not make it past the primary, given recent poll numbers.

Still, Pelosi attended a Chan fundraiser two weeks ago, and now she's offered what you'd call a soft endorsement in a new set of comments to the SF Standard.

Pelosi says it is "very exciting" to imagine San Francisco electing its first Asian American representative to Congress, adding, "She'd be a great member of Congress."

Pelosi also confirms that she has been watching and waiting to see how the race shakes out, and implies that an endorsement may ultimately arrive at a later date.

"I thought, for a while, I'd just wait, watch, and see how the public reacted to the candidates for this seat," Pelosi says.

Meanwhile, the SF Chronicle endorsed Wiener last week, noting that while the editorial board "agrees with many of Chakrabarti’s criticisms of establishment Democratic politics and policies," he lacks the experience and support as an incoming member of Congress to accomplish what he talks about, and "talking about radical change and effectuating it are very different beasts." (They also note that the lack of any endorsement coming from natural allies like Bernie Sanders and AOC should "speak volumes.")

The editorial board also said that Chan was "not ready to step into Pelosi's shoes," and would be out of her depth in Congress. And they note Wieners "expansive" legislative accomplishments in the State House, adding that he has a "nuanced legislative agenda."

Wiener hasn't made any attacks in Chan's direction, however his supporters have gone aggressively after Chakrabarti, calling out, in particular, that he owns a home in Maryland and did not vote in San Francisco between 2010 and 2020.

And, speaking to CNN last week, Wiener said, "People may not know all the details, but they generally understand that Nancy has delivered in a huge way for San Francisco. And San Franciscans don’t want someone who’s just going to like be all hot air with lots of hot takes and just having opinions."

CNN notes that that "someone" is clearly Chakrabarti.

Previously: Former Pelosi Staffer Says Chakrabarti Was Fired From AOC's Staff

Top image: Photo via Connie Chan for Congress