Attendees sat in anguished anticipation to watch the presidential election’s state-by-state results at the San Francisco Democratic Party’s headquarters downtown on Tuesday night.
The organization, which works to engage and inform the city about democratic policies, does so through voter registration, outreach, clubs and fundraisers. With the addition of watch parties on election night, the group also opened its doors to familiar city Democrats who brought encouraging words to the event.
“The HQ was inspiring,” said California State Sen. Scott Wiener while addressing the crowd. “They put their heart and soul into helping. Take a deep breath. It’s not over regardless of who wins. We still have to fight and be prepared to fight. In California, we’re ready to fight for equality and the soul of democracy.”
Rather than stay home in the Tenderloin to watch the election unfold, Dhruv Thakkar and Yarum Purushothaman joined the watch party. Although they arrived after Wiener’s motivational speech, Thakkar said that the room’s atmosphere felt lackluster.
“I thought it would be interesting to see from an insider’s perspective how people react to the news,” Thakkar said. “It’s a lot more interesting watching from the root of the operation than at home. It’s a little dull because Trump is ahead right now. There’s no need to overreact to stuff right now, I think people are in it for the long haul.”
In a review of the mayoral race, Thakkar expressed enthusiasm in his method of voting. San Francisco uses a ranked-choice voting system in which voters numerically choose their candidate preferences.
Using a voter guide to help him make educated decisions, Thakkar said Lurie was the proper option and ranked him first out of his three top candidates.
“I voted for Lurie, Breed, then Farrell,” he said. “It came down to a combination of policies, housing, crime and homelessness. Breed was focusing more on housing, Farrell on crime and Lurie was focusing more on homelessness. I think all three of those are pretty big issues in SF right now. It was what was most important to me and that’s how I ranked them.”
Even with watch parties and political figures added into the mix, attendees’ excitement lasted for brief moments as the five projector screens shining along the walls represented the opposite of their desires.
While keeping a watchful eye on the red outline of the country’s states, San Mateo county resident Monique Johnson said she felt concerned but remained optimistic.
“There’s a little bit of anxiety but the energy is still hopeful,” Johnson said. “In regards to the outcome, I will continue to do my civic duty in terms of volunteering and giving time and resources to the cause.”
Johnson’s optimism also spreads to her views of the San Francisco mayoral race in which current mayor London Breed is racing against nonprofit leader Daniel Lurie, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin and former city mayor Mark Farrell.
Although Johnson is not voting in San Francisco, she said she believes Breed has the right motives to continue her progress into a second term as mayor.
“I believe in her messaging and hope she continues to carry on,” she said. “It’s her ability to problem solve, she’s very progressive. I’m 100% behind London Breed.”
If Ben Elias could vote in San Francisco, he wouldn’t be voting for London Breed. Elias, a city-based real estate agent, is originally from France and Iran but said that unattended issues are making the city worse off.
“If you can’t do the job, give it to someone else who can do it,” he said.
The main issue that Elias points to is the number of fentanyl overdoses with both users and secondhand victims, and the casual use of drugs overall.
According to an Axios study on the progression of fentanyl abuse in San Francisco, fentanyl-induced deaths are on a decline from 810 in 2023 to this year’s projected 693 deaths. However, the numbers still show that there is “a slight uptick from July, when 41 people died,” said Axios.
Despite what studies show, Elias said that when friends visit and are surprised by the state of streets filled with homelessness and drug use, it’s hard to defend the city’s leadership.
“There’s a lack of leadership addressing these issues,” he said. “ We can’t move forward unless we have sensible solutions that can take drugs off the streets.”
With varying differences in ideals and heavy emotions in the room, San Francisco Democratic Party Chair, Nancy Tung, reminded attendees what a healthy sense of democracy looks like.
“It’s the vision of the American people who want a better future,” Tung said “It continues to go beyond who is elected.” The San Francisco Mayoral election still leaves citizens waiting for a new or re-elected candidate, as results are not expected until later this week. Lurie continues to hold an early lead in the race with 28% of votes and Breed 25%, according to Kron 4 News.
