Who is the San Francisco Republican Party supporting in this election?

The San Francisco Republican Party, which received 7.6 percent of San Francisco voters, endorsed five candidates for next November's supervisorial election. They include school board recall organizer Autumn Looijen in the 5th District, firefighter Stephen Martin-Pinto in the 7th District and Jeremiah Boehner in the 1st District.

The candidates all lean right in their respective districts. Looijen, Martin-Pinto and Boehner are seeking to unseat incumbents Dean Preston, Myrna Melgar and Connie Chan. The party also endorsed 9th District candidate Julian Bermudez and 11th District candidate Oscar Flores.

Looijen, who is running in one of San Francisco's most liberal districts to oust Preston, the city's only elected democratic socialist, from office, said she is a registered Democrat but stressed the importance of working together across party lines and the value of bipartisanship.

“We have always talked to everyone,” Looijen said. “I think there is a real problem of division in our country. We are not willing to talk to people we disagree with and we are not willing to find common ground.”

In fact, she said, people from different communities and with different political beliefs have a lot in common: “Everyone wants clean streets, everyone wants public safety.”

As for her policy proposals for the 5th District, Looijen has acknowledged in the past that she may be “further to the right” than her opponents – which may not be an advantage in the 5th District, one of the city’s progressive strongholds.

Looijen agrees: Although she believes Republican support in the liberal 5th District will not be helpful because many would “view her as a liability,” Looijen said communicating across party lines is her top priority.

Looijen has received support from conservatives in the past: her campaign to recall the school board in 2022 was financially supported by Trump supporter and technology investor David Sacks; her campaign backers include the police union and the Marina Times.

The campaign she led to introduce algebra classes in middle school received widespread support and was approved by more than 81 percent of the city's voters earlier this year.