SF District Attorney’s race too close to call, mayor declares victory

Ranked-choice voting puts Loftus ahead of Boudin in SF D.A.’s race

The latest numbers from the San Francisco Department of Elections shows Interim District Attorney Suzy Loftus has taken the lead over her political opponent, Chesa Boudin in a hotly-contested race.

SAN FRANCISCO - The race for San Francisco District Attorney remains too close to call, according to the latest election results released Wednesday afternoon.

The new numbers show that after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting that eliminated candidates Nancy Tung and Leif Dautch, Suzy Loftus had 55,830 votes to 53,625 for Chesa Boudin, a 51.01 to 48.99 percent margin.

In raw votes, however, Boudin is ahead by nearly 2,000 votes.

Loftus, who's serving as interim district attorney, responded to her ranked-choice voting lead in a statement.

"I'm happy to see our lead grow. I'm incredibly proud of our positive, people-powered campaign that was focused on building safety for all San Franciscans, no matter where they live," she said.

Boudin responded to his lead in the raw vote count.

"More people picked us as their first choice for DA than any other candidate. I am humbled," he said. "I'm confident that when all votes are counted, we will win."

Also on Wednesday, Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer issued an apology letter to the San Francisco Police Department, apologizing for comments she made Tuesday night directed at the San Francisco Police Officers Association.

At the election party for Boudin, she allegedly chanted "F*** the POA."

"I'm sorry for any offense that my comments may have caused," she said.

"That said, I cannot apologize for my comments last night directed at the leadership of the Police Officers Association," she said. "This organization has and continues to incite fear in our city--contrary to the mission and goals of our own police department."

Earlier this week, Fewer called out the POA along with other supervisors, accusing them of spending $650,000 on attack ads against Boudin in the weeks before the election.

"There is simply no room for this type of Trumpian bullying and fear-mongering in San Francisco politics," she said.

In a letter sent to Fewer Wednesday, SFPOA President Tony Montoya called Fewer's comments "repugnant."

Wednesday's election results also showed Mayor London Breed had a clear lead with more than 70 percent of the vote. Breed has already claimed victory.

"I am truly humbled and honored," she said in a statement. "I want to thank the voters of San Francisco for their confidence and their trust."

In the city's District 5 Supervisor race, Wednesday's numbers showed that Supervisor Vallie Brown and candidate Dean Preston were almost neck in neck, with Brown taking a slight lead. Brown had 50.30 percent of the vote over Preston's 49.70 percent.