San Francisco — Daniel Lurie, a philanthropist and Mr. Levi’s successor, jumped into the lead in an early return on Tuesday, edging out incumbent Mayor London Breed and three other Democrats in a heated race for San Francisco mayor.

However, the final result was not clear as thousands of votes had yet to be counted. San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters to select multiple candidates in order of preference, complicating the process of quickly identifying a winner.

The city uses a multi-round process to tally ranked ballots, and it could take several rounds of counting before a winner receives more than 50% of the votes. After each round, the candidate who received the fewest votes is eliminated and those votes are redistributed among the remaining candidates.

Breed, a moderate Democrat and the first black woman to hold the mayor’s office, received 25% of the vote as a front-runner in early results, compared to 25% for fellow moderate Democrat Lurie. was 28%.

Early election results show that Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin is the only candidate running as a traditional progressive, receiving 22% of first-choice votes. Venture capitalist Mark Farrell, a moderate, received 18% of the first-choice vote. Supervisor Ayesha Safai followed with 3% of first-choice votes.

On Tuesday night, Breed spoke to supporters at the Victory Hall bar in the South of Market area, and in an upbeat tone appealed for patience for early results. “It’s not over until it’s over,” Breed told the crowd. “I’ve been chased before. I’ve been counted out before.”

Meanwhile, in the Mission District, after early results came in, Lurie gave what at times felt like a victory speech to a jubilant crowd gathered in the chapel, a live music venue.

“We launched this campaign 13 months ago because we strongly believe the time has come for responsible leadership at City Hall,” he said to cheers. “Some say our campaign was underestimated. But they didn’t underestimate us. They underestimated the people of San Francisco demanding change.”

There have been notable changes in San Francisco, with the city’s wealthy tech sector playing an influential role in this year’s mayoral election. Tech giants who have put down roots in San Francisco and continue to see it as an international hub for tech are pouring millions into campaign contributions and injecting more centrist politics into the famously liberal city. I asked for the results.

That money paid overwhelming dividends for Lurie, Farrell, and Breed.

Breed, a San Francisco native, was first elected in 2018 in a special election following the unexpected death of then-Mayor Ed Lee. Amid the early and worrying spread of COVID-19 and subsequent pandemic-related closures, she realized she could work remotely and more cheaply from other locations downtown. He has led the city through difficult times, including a mass exodus of technology workers. City.

Critics have used the election to challenge Breede’s efforts to deal with sprawling homeless encampments, rampant property crime and a sluggish post-pandemic economy that has undermined voters’ sense of a safe and well-functioning city. I drew it as if it were a vote.

“The people of San Francisco are frustrated. About crime, homelessness, the conditions on the streets,” said Jim Ross, a veteran Democratic strategist in the Bay Area. “The other problem is that this is London Breed’s sixth year. For any politician, the sixth year in office is a really tough year, because people ask you, ‘What have you done?’ Because I see it with my eyes.”

Breed highlighted recent data that shows some of these issues have improved, particularly the decline in property and violent crimes over the past year. She has touted her policies to increase police staffing, increase drug-related arrests and clear homeless encampments. And she has championed new initiatives to repurpose vacant storefronts and reinvigorate nightlife with markets and music festivals.

Many of her supporters touted her swift action to shut down San Francisco at the beginning of the coronavirus emergency, a decision credited with saving thousands of lives. And she won influential support from housing advocacy groups based on her work to alleviate San Francisco’s affordable housing shortage.

“I am change,” she often said on the campaign trail.

Her opponents dismissed that progress as too little, too late.

Mr. Lurie and Mr. Farrell promised a more coordinated crackdown on crime and homelessness and a boost to the downtown economy. These emerged as attractive alternatives among voters who valued Breed’s message but lacked confidence in her ability to lead San Francisco out of crisis.

Lurie made a name for himself as a political “outsider” who was at odds with the four veterans in City Hall. He promised to root out government corruption, which has been a concern among voters following a series of incidents. political scandal City departments and non-profit organization In recent years.

Lurie used his family’s vast wealth from the Levi Strauss fortune to boost his campaign and raise his profile. He poured more than $8 million of his own money into his campaign.

His mother, Miriam Haas, donated more than $1 million to an independent committee supporting his mayoral campaign. She married her second husband, Peter Haas, Lurie’s stepfather, when Lurie was very young. Peter Haas is the great-grandson of the late Levi’s founder and a longtime executive at the company.

Breed frequently characterized Lurie as an inexperienced leader who relied on family money to get ahead.

Mr. Lurie touted his role as founder of Tipping Point, a San Francisco nonprofit that funds efforts to lift people out of poverty, and highlighted his commitment to solving difficult problems. He said the organization has funneled $500 million to Bay Area organizations focused on early childhood education, school scholarships, housing and job training since its founding nearly 20 years ago.

Mayoral candidate Mark Farrell has touted himself as the candidate with both political and business experience who is best suited to get San Francisco back on track.

(Hannah Wiley/Los Angeles)

Farrell entered the race amid fanfare from supporters amassed during his seven years as supervisor and six months as interim mayor before Breed was elected in 2018. He pitched himself as the best candidate for San Francisco, someone with both political and business experience. I’m back on track.

But his campaign was clouded by ethical concerns. This week, Farrell agreed to pay the fee. $108,000 fine A city investigation found that he illegally financed his mayoral campaign by funneling money to another voting committee he sponsored to reduce the number of San Francisco government committees.

Peskin, the longtime superintendent, organized a strong grassroots movement that openly embraced liberal policies. He frequently contrasted working-class donors with the huge influx of technology money flowing to Mr. Lurie, Mr. Farrell and Mr. Breed. He focused his campaign on traditional San Francisco ideals, such as making the city affordable for nurses, teachers, and the artists and bohemians who have long made San Francisco a creative center.