Update 4:41 p.m. 11/4/26: This story has been refreshed with Wednesday afternoon’s incremental election returns.

San Francisco Democrats had plenty to celebrate Tuesday as their party captured both houses of Congress, delivering a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump. For local progressives, the view closer to home was considerably more complicated.

Mayor Daniel Lurie claimed a mandate Wednesday for his government overhaul and affordability agenda. His allies held commanding leads in several supervisor races, while progressive hopes for a public bank and a new housing fund faced uncertain or discouraging returns.

The competing moods were palpable at election-night gatherings. At Connie Chan’s congressional watch party, supporters cheered national Democratic victories while watching their candidate fall behind state Sen. Scott Wiener.

“But here in San Francisco, it’s still big money that’s controlling us,” said Albert Chow, a trailing District 4 supervisor candidate.

The numbers remain preliminary. By Wednesday’s 4 p.m. report, the city had counted 206,32o ballots, up 21,288 from Tuesday night’s final update. Officials estimated another 135,000 remained uncounted. All local percentages below reflect Wednesday’s fifth report. For more details, see our results page.

Big night for the mayor

Supporters of Mayor Lurie and his Clean Up City Hall campaign to restructure local government hosted a laid-back party in a Hayes Valley bar. Credit: Rosie Bultman / San Francisco Public Press
Progressive activists and policy enthusiasts gathered at The Chapel in the Mission District to watch election returns. Credit: Neal Wong / San Francisco Public Press

Lurie’s billionaire-backed “Clean Up City Hall” campaign, supported by a pooled committee with $13.8 million according to the San Francisco Chronicle, produced substantial leads:

“The voters have given us a mandate, and now it’s our responsibility to deliver,” Lurie said in a Wednesday statement. The Chronicle has declared all three measures passed. Supporters promise efficiency and accountability, but critics warn of concentrated power in the executive branch and barriers to grassroots organizing if Proposition D is certified.

Separately, Proposition A, restructuring departments and commissions, had 70.51% support.

Lurie’s appointees Stephen Sherrill and Alan Wong led their supervisor contests with 90.79% and 75.91%, respectively, in the last preliminary ranked-choice rounds. Incumbent Matt Dorsey had 80.77%, and Lurie-endorsed Theo Ellington had 66.97%. Gary McCoy led District 8 with 64.20%, although Mission Local’s reporting complicates a moderate-sweep narrative: the labor-backed candidate could be less reliably aligned with Lurie than outgoing Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

Bringing the issues to Washington

Wiener led Chan 55.46% to 44.54% Wednesday afternoon. His campaign had raised nearly $5.8 million, compared with $2.4 million for Chan, according to Federal Elections Commission data compiled by Ballotpedia. Their contest exposed divisions over housing, political donors and artificial intelligence regulation, despite agreement on other priorities, including raising Social Security’s payroll-tax cap.

For Chan supporters, the race also carried hopes of electing San Francisco’s first Chinese American congressional representative. Wiener would become the city’s first openly LGBTQ representative in Congress.

At Chan’s gathering, Arab Resource and Organizing Center executive director Lara Kiswani urged persistence: “No matter what happens, and we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, we’re going to get back to work.”

Supporters of Connie Chan rallied Tuesday night despite her trailing in early returns. Credit: Zhe Wu / San Francisco Public Press
Lara Kiswani of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center backed Chan and gave her supporters a pep talk. Credit: Zhe Wu / San Francisco Public Press

Affordability connected these battles, even where proposed solutions divided voters. Public Press reporter Cami Dominguez, who covers Latinos in San Francisco, told KALW Tuesday that the community is far from politically uniform, but interviews consistently return to living costs. Concerns once centered on rent increasingly include affording basic necessities.

Jessica Lipnack and Peter Wiley, election observers, were on the lookout for unusual activity at a polling place in the Mission District, the heart of San Francisco’s Latino community.

Other measures

Proposition C, expanding Housing Trust Fund contributions, had 80.27% support, reflecting a coalition spanning Lurie and progressive housing advocates. But Proposition I, dedicating transfer-tax revenue to affordable housing and tenant assistance, trailed with 45.25% yes.

Proposition B, laying groundwork for a public bank, drew closer: 49.96% yes, trailing by just 144 votes, compared with 630 in Tuesday night’s final report.

Transit offered broader common ground. Proposition H, a parcel tax for Muni operations, had 72.79% support. The regional transit sales tax had 77.91% in San Francisco, though its outcome depends on five counties. The Chronicle declared both passed.

Proposition G, reopening the Upper Great Highway to weekday traffic, faced 63.57% opposition. Proposition J, ending a transfer-tax exemption for large foreclosed properties, had 79.47% support.

State results add another wrinkle. Proposition 40, the one-time billionaire tax, trailed statewide with 44.4% support, while Proposition 42, prohibiting new state personal-property taxes and certain retroactive taxes, led with 54.3%. San Francisco went the other way: 52.83% supported the billionaire tax, and 59.15% opposed the tax restrictions.

The next city report is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive through Nov. 10. Nothing is certified. Follow our results page for updates and our voter guide for what the measures would change.

Rosie Bultman is a multimedia journalist based in the East Bay Area. Her reporting interests are broad, with a focus on labor, activism and the human impact of public policy. She previously served as the news director at UC Santa Barbara’s community radio station, KCSB FM. Her work has received recognition from entities such as the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California and the San Francisco Black Film Festival.

Cami Dominguez is a reporter primarily focused on Latino communities in San Francisco. Their journalistic aspirations started during the 2016 election, where they realized the influence of the media. It’s then that they made it a mission to amplify the voices of often overlooked communities. They write for the San Francisco Public Press as a California Local News Fellow, a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California. Previously they have reported for El Tecolote and KQED.

Zhe Wu is a reporter who is interested in covering stories related to the Asian American community. Previously, she has covered education and local community issues in the East Bay for Oakland North, Oaklandside and Berkelyside. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, English and a bit of Hakka. She arrived at the Public Press in 2023 as a member of the first cohort of the California Local News Fellowship program, a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities. Zhe Wu received the 2025 award for Outstanding Emerging Journalist from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter.

Michael Stoll is senior editor and co-founder of the San Francisco Public Press. Formerly executive director, he has also been a reporter and freelance writer for local and national outlets, including the San Francisco Examiner and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has taught journalism at two Bay Area universities, and researched media ethics. He was selected as the 2026 medial fellow with the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford.