Published Jun. 2, 2026at1:20pmUpdated Jun. 2, 2026at9:42pm
Polls have closed in Tuesday’s primary election. Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra are vying for the top spot in the gubernatorial jungle primary, with billionaire Tom Steyer a distant third. In the race to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress, Scott Wiener has come out on top, and Connie Chan looks comfortably in second place. Mayor Daniel Lurie wasn’t on the ballot, but his two Board of Supervisor allies, Stephen Sherrill and Alan Wong, coasted to victory. We’ll be updating this page as results come in.
Hilton extends lead over Becerra
With close to 55% of the votes counted in the gubernatorial race, former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, extended his slender lead, with 27.6% (1.3 million votes). Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is still in second place, with 25.5% (1.2 million), and Tom Steyer is in third with 19.6% (930,277). Chad Bianco is at 11.3%, and Katie Porter has 4.7%.
Steyer: It’s not over. Till it’s over
Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer at his campaign watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. | Source: Manuel Orbegozo for The Standard
In a speech delivered to hundreds packed into gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s election party, the billionaire progressive said it was too early for anyone to claim victory. However, Steyer was trailing as of 9:40 p.m., behind Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra, making his chances of clinching the second-place spot increasingly unlikely.
“It might take some time to figure out where this is going,” Steyer said. “We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work.”
— Gabe Greschler
Lurie’s very good news night
Standing outside Original Joe’s, Mayor Daniel Lurie told a group of reporters that the early returns seem to show that voters are happy with the work he is doing at City Hall. “The early returns that we are seeing show that San Franciscans like the direction that we are going in. We are just getting started. We are going to continue to put our foot on the accelerator.”
Despite opposing Measure D (the measure that would raise the Overpaid Executives Tax and change how it is calculated), Lurie conceded that its existence speaks to wealth inequality and the cost of living in San Francisco. “The affordability crisis is at the top of my agenda,” he said.
With wins for both of his supported candidates in the supervisor races, Lurie has a lot to be pleased about. “l appreciate the leadership of supervisors Alan Wong and Stephen Sherrill,” he said, pointing to their wins as a stamp of approval for his “results-driven” agenda.
(Read more about Lurie’s electoral grand slam.)
— Jonah Lamb
Two parties, two scenes, one winner
The two parties were a block apart. That was the only thing they had in common.
District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill’s supporters — among them Supervisors Bilal Mahmood and Rafael Mandelman — gathered at modern Mexican cantina Lobalita. Challenger Lori Brooke’s party filled CC’s Cocktail Lounge, a Marina dive around the corner. Sherrill’s served carefully constructed mini tacos in crunchy shells, while Brooke’s had pizza and a jukebox.
Sherrill, appointed as supervisor in December 2024 by then-Mayor London Breed, ran as the steady hand backed by Mayor Daniel Lurie. Four political action committees lined up behind him with a combined $1 million.
As Sherrill’s party began, Kath Tsakalakis nursed a margarita at the bar. She usually stays away from election parties, but she’d made an exception for Sherrill. Three Marina bros in jeans and button-downs stood nearby. One said he vowed his support after Sherrill knocked on his apartment door and seemed chill.
Early results showed Sherrill had crushed the competition. “Seventy-one percent, baby,” one supporter exclaimed.
Down the block at CC’s, the mood was less jubilant. Brooke took the stage and acknowledged the early returns. Even so, she said, “there is food, there is drink, there is joy.”
In an interview, Brooke said she was happy with the campaign, even though victory was unlikely. Sherrill is a good guy, she said, and she expects to work with him in good faith. But she thinks he has bigger ambitions and was handed the job on a “silver spoon.”
“It’s the machine,” she said. Pointing to the crowd at CC’s, she noted, “This is not the machine. These are everyday people who deeply care about the neighborhood. I do this when nobody is looking.”
Peskin-banning Prop. B looks like a yes
Prop. B, which would set lifetime term limits for the San Francisco mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors, appears likely to pass. If it does, then officials may not serve more than two four-year terms in those roles.
The measure was seen as targeting former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who is the only person who has returned to office in San Francisco after serving the maximum allowed two consecutive terms.
Wiener-hating TERFs?
The attendees of proud “actual moderate” Marie Hurabiell’s election party would like a word with Scott Wiener. And it won’t be a kind one.
A dark-horse candidate to succeed Nancy Pelosi in Congress, Hurabiell summoned a slim contingent of politically active San Franciscans to her cause: the trans-exclusionary radical feminists. Her campaign events manager, Julie Lane, is the president of SF TERF Central and was in plentiful company at the party. Cut-out paper letters on the wall read “Hot girls for Marie.”
Supporters of Scott Wiener cheer while he declares victory at his election watch party in San Francisco. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
“Scott Wiener’s our nemesis,” Lane said. “Marie’s been the only person to talk about this, and the media’s shut her out.”
Her issues with Wiener aren’t just about trans politics. But they are mostly about trans politics.
Hurabiell joined the race less than 100 days ago, entering a field crowded with progressives whose odds were much better going into Election Day.
Not that they were one-issue voters. A big cheer swept the Hurabiell crowd as monitors showed Prop. D, the Overpaid CEO Tax, failing. They were followed by groans as NBC Bay Area showed a graphic with the three front-runners — and no room for Hurabiell.
For governor, most of the attendees seemed to have gone Hilton or Mahan. “I want to see a political earthquake in San Francisco,” said Charlotte, a lifelong San Franciscan.
Hurabiell was trailing badly in fifth place with 29% of the vote counted at 9:45 p.m. She didn’t seem to have noticed and had no plans for a concession speech.
“I’m feeling amazing, I’m feeling totally energized, super excited,” she said an hour and a half after polls closed at 9:30 p.m. “I’m still planning on winning this, and if I don’t, I’ll be running again.”
—Jessica Blough
Hilton holds slender lead with 50% votes counted
With close to 50% of the votes counted in the gubernatorial race, former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, holds a slender lead, with 26.7% (1.08 million votes). Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is still in second place, with 25.9% (1.05 million), and Tom Steyer is in third with 19.7% (798,610). Chad Bianco is at 11.2%, and Katie Porter has 5%.
Sherrill and Wong coast to victory in supervisor races
Alan Wong campaigns on the intersection of 19th Avenue and Judah Street on Election Day. | Source: Godofredo A. Vásquez for The Standard
Incumbent supervisors Stephen Sherrill in District 2 and Alan Wong in District 4 are both defending their seats in special elections. The outcomes could determine whether Mayor Daniel Lurie keeps control of the moderate-leaning Board of Supervisors.
After two rounds of voting, the results are good news for Lurie. In District 2, Sherrill is at 71.08% (6,251), and Lori Brooke is at 28.92% (2,543). In District 4, Alan Wong is at 72.32% (6,648), and Natalie Gee is at 27.68% (2,545).
Early returns put Wiener and Chan ahead
In the first election results from San Francisco, Scott Wiener and Connie Chan have pulled ahead of the competition in the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Wiener at his election-night party. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
Saikat Chakrabarti, who largely self-funded his campaign and portrayed himself as an outsider candidate, has about 14% of the vote, versus 30% for second-place Chan.
Wiener is comfortably ahead and looks likely to sail his way into the general election.
Both of SF’s dueling tax measures are failing
It looks like both of the San Francisco measures competing in a labor-versus-business proxy battle are falling far short of the simple-majority threshold needed to pass.
Prop. C, which would lower business taxes, is failing in early returns (opens in new tab), with nearly 64% voting against it. Prop. D is hovering close to a 57% “no” vote.
At a dinner table laden with wine glasses and paper plates, canvassers Julia Toscano and Cynthia Bueno tucked into sausage pizza and Caesar salad.
Toscano, campaign codirector for the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition, described Prop. D as a “lifeline to help solve our city’s budget crisis,” adding that the extra tax revenue would make it easier to argue against city job cuts.
“Our challenge was just informing people,” Toscano said.
But despite canvassers’ efforts, early turnout is abysmally low — a bad sign for proponents of populist measures.
Matt Mahan campaign looks like a wrap 
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan shakes hands with supporters after conceding minutes after the polls closed Tuesday. | Source: Pablo Unzueta for The Standard
Before results had even settled in, Matt Mahan seemed to be conceding defeat. At roughly 8:20 p.m., the 43-year-old first-term mayor all but gave up his short-lived but well-funded race for governor in front of hundreds of supporters at San Jose’s Three Sisters Whiskey Bar.
Joined behind the podium by his three children (“OK, get off the stage, boys,” he said to the two little ones as they tussled at his side), Mahan touted his accomplishments running the Bay Area’s largest city.
“While our campaign for governor ends tonight, our mission has only just begun,” he said. “We will take tonight to celebrate all we have accomplished, but we will be back to work tomorrow.
“And please know this will not be the last time I will ask you to come together to fight for a better California,” he added to cheers. “Because we are just getting started!”
His wife, Silvia Scandar Mahan, seemed eager to point fingers for the pending defeat, singling out competitors who “spent many hundreds of millions to buy their place in the race” (a none-too-subtle shot at Tom Steyer). She also voiced the fear among Democrats that two Republicans would make it to the runoff and hand-waved at her husband’s late entry to the race.
“Remember,” she said, in a sort of reverse campaign slogan, “we got in late, but we did great!”
The vibes were surprisingly high for a room of people who knew they were about to lose. Campaign staff sporting “Getting California back to basics” T-shirts, volunteers, supporters, and a surprising amount of children packed Three Sisters, which was wallpapered for the night in blue and green “Matt Mahan for governor” signs. An upbeat soundtrack of oldies and top 40 played over the din of slightly drunken conversation — including, perhaps wishfully, “We Can’t Stop,” by Miley Cyrus.
—Emily Shugerman
Swalwell still manages more than 10K votes
Despite a sexual misconduct scandal that booted him from Congress and his position as the front-runner in the gubernatorial race, Eric Swalwell has managed to pick up more than 10,000 votes.
Saikat enters the Chapel
Saikat Chakrabarti arrives at The Chapel on Valencia Street. | Source: Giselle Garza Lerma for The Standard
Congressional hopeful Saikat Chakrabarti held court for a gaggle of reporters on the balcony of the Chapel — a position usually reserved for head-bobbers — as supporters flooded into the venue for his election-night party.
“I’m feeling really good,” Chakrabarti told The Standard. “The last polling we had was several weeks ago, and since then a lot has changed.”
— Sam Mondros
Wiener wins Ned Segal’s mom’s vote
Lynne Newhouse Segal rushed into state Sen. Scott Wiener’s Castro campaign headquarters about 30 minutes before the election-night party had officially started to leave him a note of encouragement. She told staff that she was nervous about the race.
“I’ve known Scott for a long time,” said Segal, mother of Ned Segal, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s chief of housing and economic policy. “He’s so smart, so honest, so hardworking.”
Segal said she was concerned with the amount of “very negative things” she had heard in the race, alluding to mailers sent by Saikat Chakrabarti’s campaign criticizing Wiener’s position on Israel’s war in Gaza.
“There’s a lot of dog-whistle stuff I’ve gotten in the mail that is very antisemitic. Very NIMBY,” she said. She added that “all the good things” about Wiener have been used against him.
Overpaid CEOs not welcome
The phone booth at the Prop. D watch party at The Rustic. | Source: Max Harrison-Caldwell/The Standard
At The Rustic, a candle-lit Cal-Ital restaurant in the Castro, the ambiance for the Prop. D party was pink-chic. But as of 7:25 p.m., there were no guests — only journalists. A sign on a pink phone booth read, “Yes on D! Protect care, not corporate greed.” More signage: “Connie Chan for Congress” placards in English and Spanish, featuring a picture of the smiling supervisor, were strewn across the square wooden tables.
Scott Mann, communications director for Yes on D, the Overpaid CEO Tax, said the campaign was optimistic.
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“Our early polling showed that voters were really receptive,” he said, adding that hundreds had canvassed for the tax on businesses whose top executives are paid much more than their low-level employees.
Revenue from the tax, which would go into San Francisco’s general fund, could fill gaps left by Medicaid and SNAP cuts.
One of the measure’s biggest backers, Supervisor Chan, arrived around 7:45, and the TV reporters pounced. Looking on, Mann praised the congressional hopeful.
“She’s been a champion for San Francisco and the programs and services everyone relies on,” Mann said, adding that she also understands city budgets.
In an interview, Chan was quick to rebut a recent claim that she was accepting AIPAC money: “It’s a desperate last-minute attempt to smear our campaign.” She also rolled out a stinger against her opponent, Saikat Chakrabarti: “It’s an election, not an auction.”
In discussing Prop. D, she contextualized the measure within a nationwide swell of progressive taxation efforts. “It’s no longer just a San Francisco conversation,” she said.
She added that when the Overpaid CEO Tax passed in 2022, it was projected to generate $60 million in its first year, but ended up generating $206 million by the end of 2023.
It’s one of the reasons she expects voters — including small business owners who want to see profit-maxxing corporations pay their fair share — to pass Prop. D.
—Max Harrison-Caldwell
Sunset supe hopeful’s stroll-n-troll
Source: Han Li/The Standard
Coincidence or masterful trolling? Minutes before polls closed at 8 p.m., Sunset supervisor candidate Natalie Gee just happened to be campaigning at 19th Avenue and Irving Street — right next to incumbent Supervisor Alan Wong’s campaign headquarters. She gamely waved into the office. Wong was not there.
Steyer is crushing the appetizers, at least
Tom Steyer has spent roughly $220 million of his own money on his campaign to be California’s governor.
We’re not sure yet how that might translate into votes, but he admittedly has a pretty fancy spread at his party at the Regency Ballroom on Van Ness Avenue. Steyer is the only major gubernatorial candidate to hold a main election-night party in San Francisco.
Black linen is draped over the tables, and the offerings include bowls of strawberries and plates of black bean empanadas, chicken salad sliders, and a charcuterie board fit to impress a Midwest grandmother on Thanksgiving. Other bites include olive oil crostinis, antipasto skewers, and sesame noodle salad.
Since it is going to be a long night, there’s espresso on tap: Onyx Coffee Lab’s Monarch dark roast, known for its dark chocolate and molasses undertones.
Tom Steyer’s party spread. | Source: Alicia Cocchi/The Standard‘They didn’t give up’
Supervisor Connie Chan has Election Day jitters.
No, not because she’s nervous about her chances. In fact, she’s pretty confident that with the wind at her back the last few weeks, she’ll be getting good news. She arrived at Original Joe’s to shake hands with the firefighters pushing for the earthquake bond, Prop. A, in her first stop of the night. She was all smiles.
“People have been literally counting us out since Day One,” Chan said. “They said, ‘You didn’t raise enough money.’ They said I wasn’t top of the polls.”
Her team, and the labor movement behind her, didn’t give a damn.
“They didn’t give up,” she said. “I think we’re gonna see that in the results tonight.”
But Chan is still feeling the nerves, she said. To center herself, she treated it like any other day.
She woke up and got breakfast for her family — yogurt and boiled eggs. She saw her 12-year-old son off to school. Between campaigning, she even attended City Hall meetings, just like any other Tuesday.
Of course, this isn’t any other Tuesday.
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez
Nate Silver on California vote-counting: Oh, yikes
Earlier (see below), we posted about how voters will need to be patient, given the time it will take for California (and San Francisco) to count votes. (We’re talking days.) Nate Silver, the statistician and forecaster who built his reputation predicting baseball outcomes and then politics at FiveThirtyEight, has some views on this. Strong, failed-state kind of views.
Low turnout has Prop. A backers sweating
Only a dozen souls hovered at the Prop. A party around 7 p.m. in the back room of Original Joe’s in North Beach. The mood was pensive, at least as the event kicked off, for the firefighters and their allies who’d marched hundreds of city blocks to convince voters to pass the earthquake safety and emergency response bond, which would allow the city to borrow $535 million to fund the repair and expansion of water networks on the west side, among other infrastructure needs.
Early low turnout is casting a pall for the measure’s supporters. Just under 103,000 voters, roughly 20%, had turned in their ballots as of Election Day. Conservative, anti-funding-measure voters dominate low-turnout elections, or so the political wisdom goes.
“Somber” may not be the right word, but in the first hours, it sure wasn’t a party.
Mario Flaherty, secretary at Firefighters Union Local 798, knocked doors for more than a dozen days alongside fellow firefighters in an effort to get Prop. A passed. His crews are the ones who know the importance of firefighting infrastructure.
“It’s a little disappointing, I suppose,” Flaherty said of the voter turnout. “Everyone always says every vote is important. Every time you go to a ballot box, this is important. But this is actually extremely important, because we have a lot of change going on right now.”
Insiders have speculated that voters are holding onto their ballots to see which two Democrats are best placed to go forward in the gubernatorial primary. If that wisdom holds, a flood of votes will arrive tonight, and the firefighters will feel lucky indeed.
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez
In Compton, Maxine Waters picks a fight with Dr. Dre
While San Francisco has plenty of election-night intrigue, nothing quite matches the celebrity clash brewing 400 miles south, in Compton, where 87-year-old Rep. Maxine Waters — the South L.A. institution who has held her House seat for nearly four decades and made a second career going viral while dressing down Trump officials on Capitol Hill — has picked a fight with Dr. Dre.
The Compton-born rap mogul, Death Row Records cofounder, and Beats by Dre billionaire has been quietly pouring money into local schools for years. He and Waters are on opposite sides of a ballot measure to tear down and rebuild a decrepit local high school that has been without a permanent cafeteria for three years. Waters’ slate mailer — a decades-old political institution in South L.A. — urged voters to reject the bond, with no explanation offered. When a reporter caught up with her at a Sunday rally, she wouldn’t say why. A statement she promised for Monday never arrived. The new digital news site L.A. Material has the juice. (opens in new tab)
National Review to California: You’re cooked either way
Conservative magazine site National Review (a staunch Never Trump outfit in 2016 that later largely made its peace with the president) has weighed in on the California gubernatorial debate. And it’s not holding back (opens in new tab). Of Xavier Becerra, its editors say, “He would not make anything in California better, but might not make things much worse.” Tom Steyer, on the other hand? Ouch. “Governor Newsom is plenty awful, and his successor, whoever it is, will be too. But if you think California politics can’t get any more deranged, give Tom Steyer a chance to prove you wrong.”
Better late than never
It took Rep. Nancy Pelosi a long time to enter the fray and endorse one of those hoping to succeed her in Washington. But since endorsing Connie Chan two weeks ago, Pelosi has gone all-in. And there was no letting up Tuesday as she posted her support, again, on X.
If Chan gets over the line as one of the top two, it’ll likely be Pelosi’s late support that made the difference.
What do prediction markets tell us?
In California’s nonpartisan primary for governor, three candidates have consistently polled at the top: Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton. But what do prediction markets say about who people think will advance to the runoff?
As of Tuesday, Becerra’s odds of placing first in the primary hovered around 77% on both Polymarket and Kalshi (opens in new tab). Hilton stood at 15% and 16% on Polymarket and Kalshi, respectively, while Steyer was at 9% and 11%.
While Kalshi and Polymarket like to position themselves as a way to make educated guesses about what may happen, it’s important to remember that they’re vulnerable to manipulation. A single trader could flood thousands of dollars into one outcome and skew the forecast in favor of a certain candidate. For example, Kalshi this year 86’d major Democratic donor Stephen Cloobeck (opens in new tab) for trying to place a sizable bet on his buddy Eric Swalwell.
Also problematic is the fact that at least one prediction market is betting on a candidate for whom it’s hosting a market. Just days ahead of the election, Kalshi chipped in nearly $40,000 to Becerra’s campaign.
Conflict of interest? Probably.
— Jennifer Wadsworth
Not exactly winning energy
In a short video posted to X, Saikat Chakrabarti wrapped up his campaign for outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat by reflecting on what his team of volunteers has achieved over the last eight months. But the opening line of his post, “No matter what the result is tonight,” isn’t exactly giving off winning energy. Our reporter Sam Mondros will be at Chakrabarti’s election-night party to check out the mood when the results come in.
California’s gubernatorial race: The New Yorker has views
Nathan Heller, who frequently writes about the Bay Area for The New Yorker, has just weighed in (opens in new tab), and it does not make for pleasant reading for Democrats. “What happened to make this — the second most powerful executive job in the country — such a vacuum?” he asks. “Why was it so unappealing to the most obvious candidates, and why wasn’t the pipeline behind those people better?”
If the race, described variously as a “hot mess (opens in new tab)” (The New York Times) and “bizarre (opens in new tab)” (The Washington Post), is a barometer of the Democrats’ national ambitions, then the party should be worried, Heller says. “California is a kind of crystal ball for American liberalism more than many people realize. And it’s one of the power centers of the Democratic Party. So, yes, it’s more broadly concerning that things appear to be a little haywire there.”
Furry support for the school board race
San Francisco school board candidate Virginia Cheung brought the cuteness with her two-member “fur brigade.” | Source: Jessica Blough/The Standard
Virginia Cheung was hovering outside City Hall and — as a school board candidate — had more to be excited about than most. She came armed with a personal “fur brigade” to help cast her vote: a malamute and a Pomeranian decked out in knit sweaters. Cheung said her mind was already on her election-night party at El Rio.
Read Ezra Wallach’s story about SFUSD board member Phil Kim’s first election as an incumbent against challengers Cheung and Brandee Marckmann.
— Jessica Blough
An SF love story could make history in New Mexico
A race in New Mexico that might have a historic result has a romantic connection to San Francisco.
Deb Haaland, who was President Joe Biden’s secretary of the interior, is running in New Mexico’s Democratic primary for governor. If she wins, she will be the country’s first Native American governor.
Her origin story includes a chapter from San Francisco. Her parents met while serving in the Navy at the station on Treasure Island.
Her father, Major Dutch Haaland, was in the Marine Corps for 30 years, while her mother, Mary Toya, served in the Navy before dedicating 25 years to education at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their Bay romance produced a daughter who went on to oversee more than 480 million acres of American public land — including a good deal of it right back in San Francisco. (We’re looking at you, Presidio and the rest of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.)
— George Kelly
When will we know? Be patient
California counts ballots slowly — expect only half the votes to be tallied by Wednesday morning. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive up to a week later. Bear in mind that early returns skew Republican this cycle, but late-counted ballots historically trend more Democratic, meaning that any leads tonight could flip. As a VoteHub data scientist says, it may be Wednesday evening before statewide races become clear; it depends on how close the races are.
‘I wouldn’t say I’m excited’: City Hall voters treat the election as a chore
Tim A. was among the trickle of voters going to cast a ballot in the basement of City Hall early Tuesday afternoon. But the stage manager at the Regency Ballroom was preoccupied with the party gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer would be throwing at his venue a few hours later. “I’ll be back in the green room,” he said. “Unless something goes wrong.”
Like Tim, most City Hall voters treated their civic responsibility as an errand, rather than an occasion. Small groups shuffled into the basement, as brides and recent grads posed for photos in more charming parts of the building.
Clive Lovejoy was among the trickle heading into City Hall’s basement to cast their ballots. | Source: Jessica Blough/The Standard
Clive Lovejoy got turned around at City Hall’s entrance after security guards detected a paring knife buried deep in his backpack. “I cut up a lot of fruit,” he explained as he bounded back down the steps to bury the item in the grass outside for later retrieval. Voting this year is an obligation for Lovejoy. “I wouldn’t say I’m excited,” he said.
A few at the polls mentioned that they’re more invested in the propositions than the candidates. Mark Nystrom skateboarded over to City Hall and dropped his ballot in the drop box before chatting about Prop. D’s Overpaid CEO Tax. Nystrom said he tries to vote in all elections, even when he was homeless. He’s now in city-subsidized housing but worries about rising rents. Mayor Daniel Lurie’s stance on Prop. D isn’t encouraging when it comes to affordability, he said.
“We have that guy in New York,” he said, referring to Zohran Mamdani, his eyes lighting up. “Then we have this guy here,” he said, eyes rolling.
— Jessica Blough
Battle for the board
The balance of power on the Board of Supervisors could tip today. Moderates hold sway on the 11-member board, but that could change as two incumbents are tested in reelection campaigns. If they are knocked off, Mayor Daniel Lurie may not have the necessary support to push forward with his agenda in the second half of his term.
Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who represents Cow Hollow, the Marina, and Pacific Heights, was appointed by former Mayor London Breed and has been an ally of Lurie. His bid to stay in office has been undermined by revelations in The Standard that Breed appointed him to bolster her chances of getting a job from Michael Bloomberg. Breed and Sherrill have denied the claims.
District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong campaigns Tuesday at 19th Avenue and Judah Street. | Source: Godofredo A. Vásquez for The Standard
He’s up against neighborhood activist Lori Brooke, who has criticized Lurie’s upzoning policy, which could allow for a 25-story apartment tower to be built above a Safeway in the Marina. Sherrill opposes the Safeway project but supports the overall rezoning policy.
The other key race is in the Sunset, where incumbent Alan Wong, whom Lurie appointed, faces four challengers. The neighborhood’s defining public policy issue has been the status of the Great Highway. Wong, like most of the candidates, wants to reopen the roadway to traffic.
Read Han Li’s article in The Standard that further breaks down the race.
Wiener already getting to grips with GOP?
If state Sen. Scott Wiener makes it to Congress by taking Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat, he can discuss a since-deleted X post from Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles up close and personal in Washington. Wiener reposted it on Election Day before Ogles deleted it. Maybe he was convinced to delete it by fellow Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who told TMZ that Ogles’ post was the work of “a fucking idiot.” Ogles’ post in full: “Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month.”
Life post-Pelosi
For the first time since 1987, Nancy Pelosi is not on the ballot to represent San Francisco in Congress. The former speaker of the House is retiring at the end of this term.
The odds-on favorite to win the primary for her seat is state Sen. Scott Wiener, based on polling. With Wiener, a moderate, in the dominant position, the real competition is for second place in the primary. Supervisor Connie Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are vying for runner-up and thus Wiener’s opponent in November.
Connie Chan and Rep. Nancy Pelosi at the North Beach Branch Library on May 29. | Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
Chan and Chakrabarti are both progressives. While Chan got the endorsement of Pelosi, Chakrabarti’s old boss AOC has not given him her imprimatur. But he has the backing of other members of “the Squad,” including Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
Chakrabarti, who made a fortune working at Stripe, has largely self-funded his $10 million campaign, while Chan has eschewed corporate donations and relied on $649,000 raised for the race.
Read Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez’s detailed look at the similarities and differences between Chan and Chakrabarti.
Trump, Vance back Hilton for California governor
Major Republican figures rolled out in support of California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. President Donald Trump posted his early-morning support on Truth Social.
A few hours later, Vice President JD Vance joined in with an X post wishing Hilton luck.
The ‘IDK’ governor’s race
The race for governor has been one of the strangest in California’s modern history. Normally, a big-name contender (or two) would have emerged months ago, but the campaign to succeed term-limited Gavin Newsom has underwhelmed voters.
The biggest event was the implosion of former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who had been leading the polls before being accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women. That created a path for former state Attorney General Xavier Becera to rise in the polls. Yet no one would say he has electrified voters, even as he has ascended.
Democratic candidates, from left, Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan, and Antonio Villaraigosa at an April 28 debate at Pomona College. | Source: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The race has been so unpredictable that in this state where Democrats heavily outnumber Republican voters there was even a period where two GOP candidates sat atop the polls. With California’s so-called jungle primary, in which the top two primary vote-getters advance to the November general election regardless of their party, there was a quasi-panic among liberals that a right-winger would retake the governor’s mansion for the first time since the days of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
That fear has receded for left-wing voters, but the picture remains murky.
Among the crowded field, Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News personality with President Donald Trump’s backing, and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, who has spent $210 million of his fortune, are among the other leading contenders.
Taking care of business
Deciphering the ballot propositions can be complicated, and the situation becomes even trickier when one measure competes with another.
San Francisco voters face that situation when it comes to Measures C and D. They both concern the city’s Overpaid Executive Tax but have diametrically different goals. Broadly speaking, Measure C would lower business taxes and is supported by moderates and business groups, while Measure D would raise taxes and has the support of labor unions and progressives.
Here is where things get interesting. If both measures are approved by voters, whichever prop gets the higher “yes” vote would go into effect. If neither passes, the Overpaid Executive Tax would move forward unchanged.
Read Standard reporter Gabriel Greschler’s analysis of both measures here.