AOC’s Money Man Burns $1.5M, Gets Zero Votes

The architect of AOC’s ‘dark money’ operation is burning through $1.47 million of his own tech fortune trying to buy a congressional seat—and local Democrats just gave him zero votes.

Zero Votes, $1.47 Million Spent

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Saikat’s dumping another $750k of his own tech millions into a campaign that just got zero delegate votes. This is the same guy who funneled nearly $900K in PAC money through his own LLC while running AOC’s “dark money” operation. Buying a seat, one personal loan at a time. https://t.co/MXL2VSdQ2B https://t.co/AupQSBiykh [Quoting @rpyers]: Former AOC chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti, running for the open Nancy Pelosi #CA11, loaned his campaign $750K ($1.47M to date), burned $803K, ending w/$112K on hand. At the recent CA Democratic Party pre-endorsement conference, he received 0 votes from local Dems. https://t.co/O6IcdBvLoF https://t.co/O2VCbzX8nA

Garry Tan @garrytan February 01, 2026

Let the numbers sink in. Saikat Chakrabarti just dumped another $750,000 of his own money into his congressional campaign. That brings his total self-loans to a staggering $1.47 million. According to his FEC filings, he’s already burned through $803,000 and has just $112,000 left.

And what does he have to show for it? At the California Democratic Party pre-endorsement conference, Chakrabarti received exactly zero votes from local Democrats. Not a handful. Not single digits. Zero. This is a man running for CA-11—Nancy Pelosi’s old seat—in a district that clearly doesn’t want him. You can’t buy grassroots support. Just ask Michael Bloomberg.

The ‘Dark Money’ Hypocrite

Here’s where it gets rich. Chakrabarti made his name as AOC’s chief of staff, the guy who built the financial architecture of her political operation. He co-founded Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress—the movement that lectures America about dark money corrupting politics.

But in 2017, Chakrabarti’s own LLC—Brand New Congress LLC—received $867,000 from the PACs he helped found. AOC’s campaign also paid his LLC over $18,000 for “strategic consulting.” The same people who built their careers railing against money in politics invented their own version of it.

When the people who lecture America about dark money try to buy their way into Congress with tech millions—and their own party gives them zero votes—the hypocrisy writes itself. Local Democrats see through it. Everyone should.

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