Asian-Americans Drive a Centrist Shift in Progressive CA

What’s happening: Asian-Americans in San Francisco are spearheading the recent pushback against progressive policies ahead of this November's high-stakes mayoral race.

• Dive deeper: The Asian-American community helped Mayor London Breed win her dominant 2019 election. However, incidents of anti-Asian violence, rising crime rates, and education policies that prioritize equity over merit have since sparked a backlash against Breed and other left-wing politicians.

• The result: In a city where nearly two in three voters are registered Democrats, this demographic group has begun to support moderate and right-leaning measures, 10 to 30 percent higher than the overall San Francisco voting population.

Driving force: San Francisco's Asian-American community took charge in the recall against soft-on-crime District Attorney Chesa Boudin and left-leaning school board members.

• Finding an alternative: Building on the momentum of these efforts, leaders in the community have become advocates for the city's more moderate mayoral candidates, such as philanthropist Daniel Laurie.

• Strong disapproval: Although they played a major role in electing Mayor London Breed, a San Francisco Chronicle poll found that 80 percent of Asian-American voters were disappointed with her performance.

Why it matters: America's minority groups are growing, and their communities are shifting away from traditional left-wing voting patterns as the Democrats continue down the path of progressivism.

What’s next: The November 5 mayoral election is expected to have high turnout due to the simultaneous presidential contest. Experts claim that historically, San Fransisco left-wingers perform better when there is high turnout, setting the stage for a potential clash between centrist demographic groups and ideological progressives.