Out gay California State Senator Scott Wiener has spent the past decade building one of the most substantive LGBTQ+ rights records in the country. Now, with his primary victory over San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Connie Chan by nearly 26,000 votes in June 2026, he is positioned to bring that legislative muscle to Congress, filling the seat vacated by retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
From Castro Supervisor to State Senator
Wiener, 56, was born in San Francisco and educated at Duke University and Harvard Law School. Before entering electoral politics, he worked as a lawyer and deputy city attorney. In 2010, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing the Castro neighborhood and adjacent districts, a seat he held until his 2016 election to the state senate. He has been re-elected twice since.
His tenure in state government has been marked by a willingness to author legislation on issues many politicians avoid. His bills have covered ground from constitutional amendments to sanctuary laws to civil protections, and notably, the vast majority have passed in California's Democratic-controlled legislature.
Trans Youth and Gender-Affirming Care
Wiener's most consequential legislative win may be Senate Bill 107, which he authored in 2022. The law prohibits California courts and attorneys from enforcing out-of-state requests seeking records or prosecuting families who travel to California for gender-affirming care for minors. It was the first of its kind in the nation and inspired 14 other states to adopt similar protections.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2025 ruling upholding state bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth, Wiener reframed the debate:
Source: LGBTQ Nation
Cover photo: California State Senate, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
