Election live blog: DA Jenkins ‘thrilled’ with early results; Dorsey, Engardio lead supervisor races

Officials with the Department of Elections were expected to release one last round of vote totals around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, and when the results went live, the big reveal turned out to be just 204 more votes. An update on ballots received will occur at 9 a.m. Wednesday, but new vote totals won't be released until 4 p.m. Thursday.

Thanks for following along as we tracked the fourth and final election in San Francisco this year. Please stay tuned for The Standard's ongoing election coverage in the days to come.

— Josh Koehn

Supervisor Matt Dorsey leads the District 6 race with 8,369 votes counted so far—that’s 530 more votes as of the third tally of the night—but he said he will not be making another speech or declaring victory tonight. Below are vote totals:

— Josh Koehn

Shortly before the third round of votes were counted, the Prop. I campaign issued a statement admitting defeat as early returns show 61% of voters opposing the measure to reopen JFK Drive and the Great Highway to vehicles. "Tonight’s results ensure that Golden Gate Park’s crown-jewel amenities will remain permanently closed off to people without the physical ability or financial capacity to access the park," the statement read. The competing Prop. J, which would keep the status quo on car-free JFK Drive and the Great Highway, looks like it will pass, with 60% of votes currently in support.

— Garrett Leahy

Incumbents for City College of San Francisco are having a rough night, as three challengers—Anita Martinez, Vick Chung and Susan Solomon—are in the lead. They ran as a slate to challenge CCSF Board of Trustee incumbents, and Chung said they were shocked to be ahead from the get go.

Chung was a student trustee during the pandemic, which they said was critical in their decision to challenge the incumbents. "They weren't doing enough,” said Chung, shortly before the crowd at El Rio sang them "Happy Birthday."

Susan Solomon also spoke to the importance of running as a slate. "I never would have run by myself," said Solomon, who retired as president of the United Educators of San Francisco in summer 2021. “We need to get to the bottom about how this went down.”

— Ida Mojadad

Jeff Tumlin, head of the SFMTA, felt encouraged by Prop. L’s early returns—it had 69% of voters casting "yes" ballots as of second returns—but he isn't about to throw a hootenanny. "I'm cautiously optimistic," Tumlin said, adding that Prop. L requires a two-thirds majority to pass and that could be a difficult barrier for the measure. The measure would allow Muni to modernize its fleet among other boosts in funding.

— Garrett Leahy

Josh Koehn, a senior reporter for The Standard, talks with ABC7 about some key early takeaways from the election and what message San Francisco voters are sending to elected officials.

— Mike Kuba

At about 10 p.m., Supervisor Gordon Mar addressed reporters on being 350 votes behind challenger Joel Engardio. Mar said he’s not surprised about the early result, and it’s still early, as approximately more than half of the ballots are yet to be counted. He said the early votes “tend to be most conservative.”

— Han Li

Mayor London Breed is having herself a night, with many of her preferred candidates and propositions looking strong in the early returns—aside from Proposition D, which is way too close to call. Breed stopped by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins party to share in the good times.

A dance floor broke out, and Jenkins joined the party in showing off some moves.

Meanwhile, nervous energy abounded at the Prop. D party after second-round results showed the measure losing by 110 votes. Supporters are taking a “wait-and-see” attitude and don’t expect to know whether the measure to streamline housing will pass until later in the week.

City Attorney David Chiu and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar stopped by to show their support for the ballot proposition and for Matt Dorsey, who looks close to cinching victory.

— Josh Koehn and Sarah Wright

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stopped short of declaring victory at her election night party, but she was clearly celebrating. “I feel very thrilled about where these results are at at this point,” Jenkins told the crowd.

— Sophie Bearman

The latest election results show 11,386 more ballots have been counted, and the supervisor races in districts 4 and 6 are holding steady. Joel Engardio still has a lead on Gordon Mar in D4 with 51% of the vote while Matt Dorsey has a more commanding advantage on Honey Mahogany in D6 with 56% of the ballots.

The true nail-biter for local ballot propositions is Prop. D, the Mayor London Breed-backed housing measure. The opposition currently leads by just 110 "no" votes.

The second round of election results brings the total votes counted to 143,682. There are 497,561 registered voters in San Francisco.

— Noah Baustin

With the first round of votes counted, things seem to be going well for Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

"I feel great," Mandelman said. "I appear to have been reelected, Prop. L appears to pass, and J has passed, and I has gone down, so I'm very happy."

Supervisor Myrna Melgar said she is most happy about Prop. I trailing behind because of the high costs Prop. I would be expected to force on the city due to the need to protect sewage treatment plants on the city's westside from rising seas.

"I'm over the moon that [Prop.] I is losing; it would have been devastating," Melgar said. "I'm glad we can keep the wonderful thing going with JFK, but Prop. I is the most important to me."

— Garrett Leahy

State Sen. Scott Wiener had a very important announcement to make on Twitter as election results poured in Tuesday night.

Honey Mahogany arrives to chants of her name at Trademark Sports Bar in SoMa.  The first round of vote returns shows her down considerably to incumbent Matt Dorsey.

“Its not where we want to be, but Honey is trying to do something incredibly challenging,” state Assemblymember Matt Haney told The Standard.

— David Sjostedt

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has a substantial lead election night Tuesday with early results revealing that her tough talk on crime and public safety is resonating with San Francisco voters.

The first batch of results shows Jenkins far ahead in the contest to keep her job over opponents John Hamasaki and Joe Alioto Veronese, both attorneys and former members of San Francisco’s Police Commission, and Maurice Chenier, a lawyer who bills himself as a “pro-police” candidate.

Jenkins has 49% of first-choice votes as of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday compared to Hamasaki at 34% and Alioto Veronese at 13%. Chenier is trailing far behind at 5%.

— Michael Barba

Proposition J supporters rallied when the first election results for Prop. J rolled in, showing 60% of voters favoring J and 61% opposing Prop. I. Prop. J campaign manager Robin Pam said she is cautiously optimistic, but is holding her breath until the next batch of votes is counted at 9:45 p.m."Lots of votes to count still, but it's encouraging," Pam said.

— Garrett Leahy

In the Chinatown subterranean bar and lounge Lion’s Den, SF Board of Education commissioner Ann Hsu feels great, she said.

She, along with Lisa Weismann-Ward and Laini Motamedi, is leading the pack with Alida Fisher not far behind. Hsu thanked her supporters including Josephine Zhao, who organized the election party.

“I hope I get to keep the seat,” Hsu said. “I’m pretty confident.”

The work started by the recall and the push for obtaining four-year terms will pay off, she said. She plans to implement fiscal discipline and operational excellence.

“Right now, we can’t even pay our teachers,” she said.

Hsu said the campaign reminds her of the mindset she was in as a techie back in 1999, when she founded Rival Watch, an online competitive intelligence company.

—Alex Mullaney

The SF Department of Elections just dropped their first results for today’s election. And while these results only include the mail-in ballots the elections department received and processed before today, some races already have such a wide margin that we can call the victor with confidence. Winners of local San Francisco elections:

Local propositions:

So far, the elections department has counted 132,296 ballots out of the 497,561 registered voters in San Francisco. See the full slate of local results at The Standard’s live election results tracker.

— Noah Baustin

Mary Bravewoman, the president of the City College of San Francisco teachers union (AFT 2121), said at a party hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America after polls closed that their coalition “left it all out on the floor” knocking on doors this election cycle.

“Win or lose, we built a community that we think will last,” Bravewoman said. “City College has been in need before, but this time, we rallied the different labor groups at the college.

“Instead of asking folks to help CCSF again, we asked them to invest in all of our futures instead,” she said.

Prop. O is a progressive tax on certain property owners with funds going directly to the beleaguered college, which has spent the last decade battling financial problems.

— Kevin Nguyen

The first round of local election results are in! The SF Department of Elections has counted 132,296 ballots out of 497,561 registered voters. Here are results so far in the local proposition contests.

(If you need a refresher on each proposition, head over to The Standard’s voter guide.)

A: 61.03% yes, 38.97% no
B: 74.04% yes, 25.96% no
C: 64% yes, 36% no
D: 50.32% yes, 49.68% no
E: 43.95% yes, 56.05% no
F: 80.85% yes, 19.15% no
G: 74.59% yes, 25.41% no
H: 70.01% yes, 29.99% no
I: 39.3% yes, 60.7% no
J: 59.58% yes, 40.42% no
L: 69.29% yes, 30.71% no
M: 52.24% yes, 47.76% no
N: 72.89% yes, 27.11% no
O: 66.1% yes, 33.9% no

These initial results include all the mail-in ballots the San Francisco Department of Elections received and processed before today. The next results will drop at 9:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. and will count today’s in-person votes.

We won’t know the total voter turnout in the election tonight; the elections department will announce how many more ballots are left to count tomorrow morning. The odds are good that a significant number of ballots will still be left uncounted tonight. That means that results could change as more vote counts are announced later this week.

See the full slate of local results at The Standard’s live election results tracker.

— Noah Baustin

First round of local election results are in! The SF Department of Elections has counted 132,296 ballots out of 497,561 registered voters. Here are results so far in the most contested races for local office:

Supervisor District 4: Engardio leads with 11,629 votes counted in the district.

Supervisor District 6: Dorsey leads with 7,304 votes counted in the district.

Board of Education: Weissman-Ward, Motamedi and Hsu lead.

District Attorney: Jenkins leads.

Public Defender: Raju leads.

These initial results include all the mail-in ballots the San Francisco Department of Elections received and processed before today. The next sets of results will drop at 9:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. and will count today’s in-person votes. We won’t know the total voter turnout in the election tonight; the elections department will announce how many more ballots are left to count tomorrow morning. The odds are good that a significant number of ballots will still be left uncounted tonight. That means that results could change as more vote counts are announced later this week. See the full slate of local results at The Standard’s live election results tracker.

— Noah Baustin

Brooke Jenkins had an initial early lead with 49% of the vote in the DA's race, while incumbent Matt Dorsey and challenger Joel Engardio had advantages in the District 6 and District 4 supervisor races, respectively.

State Sen. Scott Wiener said he expects a squeaker between Propositions I and J, which seek to bring cars back or keep them off John F. Kennedy Drive and the Great Highway, respectively. "It's going to be very close," Wiener said. "But in the end I think it's so important that JFK stays car-free. It's just been such a huge success."

— Garret Leahy

Inside the cocktail lounge at Harborview Restaurant & Bar near the Embarcadero, supporters of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins—and a large press core—waited for the first results to drop. Cinda Sullivan, the godmother of Jenkins' husband, said the DA’s family was on the way to the party and “what you see is what you get” with Jenkins. “She’s genuine and she’s loyal,” Sullivan said.

— Michael Barba

Trump-backed Republican J.D. Vance has defeated Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the race for Ohio’s Senate seat. The lawyer, venture capitalist and author of the memoir Hillbilly Elegy lived for years in San Francisco and worked for Mithril Capital, an investment firm cofounded by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom won a second term in the governor’s mansion, defeating Republican Challenger Brian Dahle. Newsom’s victory was never particularly in doubt. A 2021 recall election that aimed to remove him from office over his handling of the Covid pandemic failed by a large margin. The former mayor of San Francisco has taken on an increasingly prominent role in U.S. politics over the last year. His recent public appearances out of state and his purchase of political ads in Florida and Texas have raised the prospect that he is weighing a run for president.

— Matthew Kupfer

Dolores Huerta, a labor leader and civil rights activist, joined The Standard and Manny's Election Night party via Zoom, to encourage San Franciscans. "We're going to keep on working; we're going to keep on fighting," she said to a cheering crowd, who thanked her with chants of "Sí se puede." 

— Sophie Bearman

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appears poised to defeat Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has left Democrat Beto O'Rourke in his dust. Both Abrams and O'Rourke enjoy popularity among Democrats, but they've struggled to defeat incumbent Republicans. In 2018, Abrams lost the Georgia governor's race to Kemp. That same year, O’Rourke failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas.

— Matthew Kupfer

Last call on voting is officially here and the election night parties are set to kick off. The first round of results for local races should come in at 8:45 p.m. We checked in at District 6 candidate Honey Mahogany’s party at Trademark Sports Bar. It’s still early.

— Jesse Rogala

The moment we've all been waiting for is almost here. Polls in San Francisco and across the state of California will close at 8 p.m. Stay tuned for updates from The Standard's election team, which is attending many of the parties for elected officials and propositions on the ballot. And make sure to keep tabs on our election results page.

— Josh Koehn

Greetings Maryland and welcome to the club! The "Old Line State" has become the 20th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults. Under the legislation, adults over 21 will be allowed to possess up to 1.5 ounces of pot and grow two plants starting July 1, 2023. Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota are currently voting on similar measures.

— Matthew Kupfer

Maybe the kids are alright? Gen Z now has a seat in the House of Representatives. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a 25-year-old progressive Democrat who ran on a platform focused on issues like gun violence and climate change, has defeated Republican Calvin Wimbish in Florida's 10th Congressional District.

— Matthew Kupfer

The race for one of Georgia’s seats in the U.S. Senate is too close to call. Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are neck and neck. Last month, Walker's campaign was rocked by allegations that the retired NFL player pressured two former partners to have abortions and even paid for one of the procedures—a potentially damaging revelation for a candidate who supposedly opposes abortion in all cases, even in instances of rape, incest or medical necessity to save a woman’s life. Walker denied the allegations, and they don't seem to have affected his support from Republican voters.

— Matthew Kupfer

In response to a tweet stating that nearly 99% of Twitter employees who made political contributions gave to Democrats, the super even-keel CEO of Twitter decided he's got jokes. "It is borderline illegal to support Republicans in San Francisco!" Musk wrote this afternoon. "Even admitting you know some is pretty bad 🤣"

— Josh Koehn

The battle to be Los Angeles' next mayor remains undetermined as the tight race between a progressive congresswoman and a rich developer remains undecided. Rep. Karen Bass is vying for the post against billionaire developer Rick Caruso. The race centered on many issues common to San Francisco voters: worries over crime, homelessness and the cost of living. While Bass has the backing of top Democrats such as former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris, Caruso has capitalized on his perceived outsider status. He has vowed to be tough on crime and has endorsements from the likes of Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg.

— Jonah Lamb

Ron DeSantis is projected to win reelection as governor of Florida in a race with major implications for national politics. Political observers believe DeSantis is will run for president in 2024, potentially pitting him against former President Donald Trump, who is anticipated to attempt a comeback. Earlier today, Trump threatened to spill the beans on the Florida governor should he enter the presidential race. "If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won't be very flattering," the former president said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”

— Matthew Kupfer

San Francisco City Hall was aglow in red, white and blue for election night. We're pretty sure that mist working its way across the left side of the screen was not fog or weed smoke.

— Mike Kuba

Some elections in San Francisco are determined in a ranked-choice contest, which is a system where voters list candidates in order of preference, rather than voting for one candidate. If one candidate does not receive over 50% of the vote, then ranked-choice kicks in, which is an elimination system where the votes for the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, and then those who voted for that candidate have their votes rolled over to their second choice. This continues on until one candidate gets over 50% of the vote. So, will ranked choice make major waves this election? Unlikely, said David Latterman, head of political research firm Fall Line Analytics. Ranked-choice only applies to races with more than two candidates, so we'll be watching the District 6 supervisor race and the district attorney race.

— Anna Tong

After a long campaign and near the end of election day, appointed District Attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks on how San Franciscans are feeling given the stakes at play on a national level. Polls will be closing at 8 p.m. in San Francisco, while results are starting to pour in on the East Coast.

— Mike Kuba

District 4 supervisor candidate Joel Engardio posted up in the Sunset District Tuesday afternoon to try and rally support in the final hours before polls close. He noted a honk from a passing car is a call for "a change in direction at City Hall."

— Jesse Rogala

Our local election results page is now up and will automatically refresh with each new release of results from the Department of Elections. Check the page at 8:45 p.m. for the first results, which should include roughly 130,000 vote-by-mail ballots received prior to today. The next results at 9:45 p.m., 10:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. will add in results from in-person voting. However, the Election Department expects the number of in-person votes to be very low. The bulk of the remaining ballots will be announced Thursday afternoon, with drips and drabs for almost a week. That means we may not know the real winners in some cases for a few days.

— Anna Tong

Annie Gaus, a senior news editor for The Standard, joined our media partner ABC7's Kristen Sze to discuss the issues going before voters, as well as when we can expect a final count on ballots—we don't recommend holding your breath. The Standard spoke with David Latterman, head of political research firm Fall Line Analytics, and he said some races will likely be too early to call due to the large number of mail-in ballots, many of which will be tallied in the coming days. “The closer the race, the longer it’s gonna take,” Latterman said.

— Josh Koehn and Garrett Leahy