![SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, center right, stand for a group photo at a "Get Out the Vote" rally on May 29, 2026 in San Francisco, California. U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan to fill her seat representing California's 11th Congressional District. [File by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gettyimages-2278116976-594x594-1791066313.jpg?resize=570%2C380&quality=80)
Connie Chan, the US Democrat endorsed by former House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to succeed her in CaliforniaâÂÂs 11th congressional district, has called for a âÂÂfull arms embargo on the Israeli governmentâÂÂ.
In a televised debate on Thursday night, days before mail-in ballots are sent to California voters, Chan said that âÂÂon day one in Congressâ she would vote to âÂÂend a genocide in Gaza and to end an apartheid stateâÂÂ.
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Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, faces fellow Democrat and California state Senator Scott Wiener in the race to succeed Pelosi. The former House speaker, 86, is not seeking re-election.
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are at stake in NovemberâÂÂs midterm elections, with both parties vying for control of Congress.
While on Capitol Hill, Pelosi long supported Israel, condemning efforts to boycott or sanction the country and voting in favour of military aid.
Chan said humanitarian aid must be prioritised and told debate moderators she would not support funding for IsraelâÂÂs Iron Dome missile defence system.
Wiener has also described IsraelâÂÂs assault on Gaza as a genocide and said he would oppose funding for the Israeli military and the provision of bombs or offensive weapons.
âÂÂThis government, and itâÂÂs not just [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, is an absolute abomination, in my view, in terms of what it has inflicted on Gaza, in terms of Israel empowering settler violence and land grabs in the West Bank,â Wiener said.
The race comes amid divisions in Congress over US support for Israel. Nearly all Senate Democrats recently backed an unsuccessful effort to require a State Department report on IsraelâÂÂs human rights practices, including the killings of nine Americans in the occupied West Bank.
This week, several House members also introduced the Stop the Settlements Act, which would impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in building or expanding illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.