California state Sen. Scott Wiener saw a significant fundraising lift after a heated encounter at San Francisco’s Trans March went viral, showing the Democratic congressional candidate being heckled, followed and surrounded by protesters angry over his position on the war in Gaza.
Federal campaign finance filings submitted Wednesday show Wiener raised more than $127,600 from about 1,090 individual donations in the four days after video of the June 26 confrontation began circulating widely online, according to the San Francisco Standard.
The influx of contributions followed footage of Wiener, who is openly gay and has been among California’s most visible advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, being challenged by a protester who first acknowledged his work on transgender issues before accusing him of abandoning Palestinians in Gaza.
“You’ve been terrible, you’ve been terrible on Gaza,” the protester yelled in the clip that spread across social media. “You do not belong here anymore, Scott. And it breaks my f—ing heart.”
The scene grew more tense as other demonstrators closed in around the senator, with one person holding a middle finger just inches from his face. Wiener continued walking away without responding. The protester who posted the video later wrote on X: “Scott Wiener showed up to the trans march and for the first time we kicked his ass out.”
In another moment captured during the confrontation, a protester could be heard telling Wiener he “stopped being queer the moment he started supporting Israel.”
The episode rapidly gained traction online and drew attention far beyond California. It was covered by national and international news organizations, including The New York Times, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked about the incident during a Fox News interview.
“I think there’s obviously a very anti-Israel and anti-American wave, and I think they’re connected,” Netanyahu said after viewing the footage. “These people let themselves be swept by these irrational protests, and this very toxic ideology. I don’t think it lasts.”
Critics of the confrontation described it as “menacing,” “humiliating,” “bullying” and “appalling,” with supporters from around the country condemning the treatment of the senator.
The financial impact was almost immediate.
Wiener’s campaign had previously disclosed that the video prompted its largest single-day spike in donors since he launched his congressional bid, but it had not revealed how much money had been raised.
“I’ve just had a tidal wave, an outpouring of support,” Wiener told The Standard shortly after the incident.
According to his campaign’s analysis, 33.5% of the donations came from San Francisco residents, while 50.9% originated elsewhere in California and 15.6% came from donors outside the state.
Among those contributing after the video went viral were Anthropic engineer Wilson Berkow, who donated $999; developer Charles Gibson of TMG Partners, who gave $3,500; Berklee College of Music professor Kevin Block-Schwenk, who contributed $300; and Roomily founder Jill Lindenbaum, who donated $250.
The campaign also moved quickly to capitalize on the attention by sending fundraising text messages after the footage spread online.
The fundraising boost comes as Wiener battles San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the race to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California’s heavily Democratic 11th Congressional District.
Both candidates advanced from the June primary, eliminating progressive rival Saikat Chakrabarti from the ballot. Chan, however, has continued to build momentum with the backing of Pelosi and recently raised another $100,000 during a fundraiser hosted by the former speaker.
Campaign finance filings show Chan raised just over $400,000 during the first six months of her campaign and currently has about $362,000 cash on hand, compared with approximately $1.2 million in Wiener’s campaign account.
The Gaza confrontation marked the latest twist in Wiener’s evolving position on the Israel-Hamas war.
Although the Jewish lawmaker had previously resisted describing Israel’s military campaign as genocide, he reversed course earlier this year.
“For those of you who saw the debate clip from last week, I want to clarify that I do believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza,” Wiener said in January. “To me the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out. And that qualifies as genocide.”
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