by Shira Stein :sfchronicle – via email

State Sen. Scott Wiener has formed an exploratory committee to run for the congressional seat currently occupied by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.

Wiener, D-San Francisco, is raising funds to run for Pelosi’s House seat in the event she doesn’t run for another term in 2024. Pelosi stepped down as leader of House Democrats in January and has held the San Francisco House seat since 1987.

Pelosi “is one of the most effective and transformational leaders we’ve ever had. I am and will continue to be grateful to have her as my representative in Congress for as long as she is willing to serve. I’m exploring my options for a potential congressional run in the event she decides to step down,” Wiener said in a statement through a spokesperson.

Forming an exploratory committee is the first step toward running for Congress, but is largely a placeholder that allows a candidate to raise funds, poll likely voters and conduct other acts to determine whether a candidate should run.

As a senator, Wiener has championed numerous bills aimed at dramatically boosting California’s housing production, as well as bills focused on civil liberties and the LGBTQ community.

So far this legislative session, he has proposed a bill to make permanent an earlier requirement he passed requiring local governments to streamline approval of some projects if the city hasn’t met its state-mandated housing targets. That measure has sped up the approval of more than 3,000 housing units in San Francisco alone. He’s also revived a push to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms, and is co-author of a proposal to remove Prop. 8 — a voter-approved initiative to ban gay marriage that was ruled unconstitutional — from the state Constitution.

“Speaker Emerita Pelosi plans to serve her entire term in Congress, representing the people of San Francisco. And in order to help win back the House for the Democrats, she has filed for re-election,” her spokesperson, Aaron Bennett, told The Chronicle on Friday.

Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi, an attorney who has never held public office but has been a leader in the state and national Democratic parties, and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, now the California director of the Working Families Party, are also expected to consider making a run when Pelosi does retire.

Reach Shira Stein: shira.stein; Twitter: @shiramstein