As scrutiny rises against liberal policies, the candidate pool for San Francisco’s mayoral race could lean in favor of centrist Democrats. 

Mayor London Breed is facing a tough battle for reelection in November as the city faces persistent problems with homelessness, crime, and rampant drug use. Early challengers that emerged last year fall into the centrist camp, which Breed herself has campaigned on. 

A former ally of Breed, Ahsha Safai, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which is largely made up of progressives, launched his campaign in May. Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune and nonprofit executive, challenged Breed in September.  Both candidates positioned themselves in the centrist Democratic lane despite the city’s liberalness. 

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a progressive who has been floated as a potential mayoral contender, told Politico that tech billionaires funding centrist Democrats’ campaigns have deterred progressives from entering the race.  

‘‘The billionaires have spent a lot of money creating an extremely toxic environment for the historic liberal consensus in San Francisco,” Peskin said. 

Ahead of the election year, Lurie brought big bucks into the race. The philanthropist founder of Tipping Point Community hit the ground running in the first months of his campaign, bringing in $519,896 between September and December, according to the San Francisco Standard. 

Peskin is currently undecided on running for mayor, informing local outlets he’ll make that decision sometime in the election year. 

Breed became the first black woman to lead the city when she won a special election in 2018. She’s been called a weak leader because her tenure has been plagued by the pandemic, leading to a struggling economy, exacerbated by empty downtown offices while officials grapple with a drug overdose epidemic. 

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While Republicans and some Democrats blame progressive policies for the city’s problems, Peskin believes there is still room for a far-left candidate in the race. 

“There’s definitely a lane for a progressive, if that progressive got in now or got in yesterday,” he said.