Coverage brought to you by the 48 Hills Election Night Team. Reporters: Philippe Bienick, Lily Jaramillo, Audrey Jonas, Leonardo Lluberes, Olyvia Manor, Julian Myers, Frida Ruiz De La O, Georgia Srabian, and Sofia Weinberg. Photographers: Kaleb Martinez and Quin Stevens. Editors: Marke Bieschke and Tim Redmond
The national results are a massive rout for the Trump agenda. A Trump-backed candidate who dislodged a more independent candidate in Texas is losing, badly. Abdul El-Sayed, who has run on an economic populist platform, is winning in Michigan. In a stunning move, South Carolina has elected a Democratic Senate candidate.
The voters in conservative areas are clearly sick of the idea of a handful of billionaires, linked to a corrupt and out-of-touch chief executive, are setting policy for the country.
The El-Sayed race is critical: His victory will demonstrate that a platform based not on fear of Trump or a Clinton-style move to the center but on a progressive message that includes taking on the rich and changing US foreign policy in the Middle East works in a swing state.
That could encourage the likes of Reps. Ro Khanna and AOC to look at the White House. It could force the remaining old-guard Democrats who still control the party to recognize that their approach has failed.
Plus: The first openly gay senator. The first Native American and Black woman governors. First Black speaker of the House.
It’s a pretty dramatic outcome on a pretty dramatic night.
And then there’s San Francisco.
No elected leaders in this city support Trump or would want any connection to his agenda. But the mayor has encouraged a small number of very rich people to seek dominance over city policy in a way that favors the very, very rich over everyone else. State Sen. Scott Wiener is supported by Big Tech and Real Estate, and he’s looking to prevent a labor-back candidate, Sup. Connie Chan, from replacing Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in Congress.
Wiener is far ahead in the first round of results, after $17 million in spending. The mayor’s $13 million campaign is clearly winning the day on ballot measures. That’s no surprise: It’s almost impossible for grassroots campaigns that have no money to go up against that kind of blunt force.
Chan’s party is still lively. From our correspondent Frida Ruiz Del la O:
A large crowd of San Franciscans in support of Congressional candidate Connie Chan gathered at Gray Area on Mission Street. Chan merch being sold at the entrance, buttons reading ‘Connie Chan for Congress’ and navy blue shirts with “CONNIE” written across the chest. The crowd buzzed with hope and excitement, with boxes of pizza stacked to the left of the room, and a photo background reading “The future is ours to build” and “we are here to change what comes next” to the right of the room.
Attendee Osha Ashworth said “being someone who comes from a working family, and understanding the struggles of working people is really important to bring into congress”
Videos of Chan greeting community members projected on a main screen and attendees mingled. Many grabbing a drink at the bar and bustling at tables chatting all things Chan. Attendee Brady Fell said “I’m hopeful, I think she had a lot of headwinds because of name recognition and because of all the money that Scott Wiener had, but I mean, I’m hopeful” Speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi endorsed Chan earlier this year.
Chan’s popularity amongst the crowd stems from a working class background and an inspiring story. Fell continued, “It would be great for the city to see someones whos immigrated to the united states and now could be in the house”
The crowd at Chan’s event continues to grow. the current lead Wiener at 57% and Chan at 43%, the crowd remains hopeful with only 29% of votes being accounted for.
Olivia Morris said “we are up against crazy pac fund, this is a really grass roots movement, no matter what it’s going to be an uphill battle.” Matt Richardson added “I’m committed to the end. I want to get the
final count”
From our correspondent Sophia Weinberg:
Tim Yankowski, who canvassed for Chan, said that he’s really proud of her “because of her stand not to take corporate money. I think that’s the difference for me in candidate choices from now on.”
Wiener’s celebration, and perhaps his career in the House, starts off with a very bad sign: The campaign rejected a reporter from Mission Local, which has been very fair to both candidates, from covering his election night party, saying the outlet is biased. The campaign also declined to allow 48 Hills access. So our new member of Congress is both arrogant and vindictive.
From our correspondent Julian Myers:
My experience at the Swedish America Hall was very interesting yet short lived. I walked up to entrance and flashed my press pass to the person at the front. No older than 24, the man asked me which outlet I represented. I told him that I report for 48 hills. The man told me to “wait one second, I need to check if we can let you in.” He claimed that the place was at capacity. However, even as I waited for a response, I watched a small cluster of people walk past me and up the stairs. Then, someone came back, seemingly with higher authority than the man at the front, and whispered to him “No 48 Hills.” The man proceeded to turn his head towards me, Not knowing I had heard this, and told me that he was “Sorry. We’re currently at capacity.”
In District 8, Gary McCoy is headed to a clear victory. From our correspondent Audrey Jonas:
The atmosphere of McCoy’s election night party is casual, featuring streamers hanging from the doorways and a balloon arch center stage. The room is brightly lit. Before the room fills up, a band plays while guests eat pizza from a large stack of boxes. Immediate cheers and chants ensue as the projected screen of election results reloads at 8:45 p.m. McCoy stands to give a speech and asks his team to come and stand behind him. He calls out the younger people on his team. He makes the crowd laugh several times. Another chant of “Gary” ensues shortly after he says, “this is not about the moderate/progressive divide, it’s about unity and recovery.” He adds on at the end that anyone in labor should raise their hand, and shouts them out as being an enormous part of his campaign. Two of his youngest looking team members embrace him after his speech with proud smiles on their faces. Twenty minutes or so after McCoy’s speech, his opponents have been eliminated and the room begins to somewhat clear out.
McCoy’s victory will challenge the mayor’s approach to housing and harm reduction. But he’s not a progressive.
Prop. G, the move to reopen the Great Highway, is clearly failing. From our correspondent Olyvia Manor:
Otto Pippenger, the face of the “Yes on G” campaign, said he said that he was not surprised by the outcome, but still feels he has succeeded. He said it was less about the electoral results, since he knew that he could only offer the proposition a “25-40%” of passing, but rather that he was able to give voice to the people who had been drowned out the first time around. For him, it was a small defeat in a larger movement of bringing together the people who continue suffering these smaller losses and will eventually grow into a greater power against the mainstream. He said that he never claimed himself to be a part of the Democratic or Republican parties, he instead sees himself as a radical who serves the mission of his own moral code and beliefs. However, he still recognizes that San Francisco is descending down an unfortunate path after this recent results and claims that while the rest of America is moving forward, we remain stagnant if not regressing.
So the results from San Francisco are a bitter disappointment to progressives—and a sign that the billionaire money and its agenda are dominating the city. For now.
