San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin recalled

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been recalled, The Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle are both projecting, and on Tuesday night, he conceded defeat.

With 45 percent of precincts reporting, 61 percent of voters are in favor of recalling Boudin. Speaking to supporters on Tuesday night, Boudin said, "This was never about one vote count. It was never about one election night party. This is a movement, not a moment in history."

The 41-year-old was elected in 2019, and promised to eliminate cash bail and divert low-level offenders into mental health and drug treatment programs. During his first two years in office, violent and property crimes dropped, while burglaries and motor vehicle thefts rose. Boudin chose not to seek the death penalty or try juveniles as adults, and reduced the use of sentencing enhancements, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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The recall campaign against Boudin, which was heavily funded by business groups, accused him of not doing enough to keep San Francisco safe, citing an increase in smash-and-grab robberies and brutal attacks against elderly Asian Americans.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.