Chesa Boudin wins San Francisco D.A. election

Chesa Boudin is a candidate for the San Francisco District Attorney Office. Chesa Boudin is a candidate for the San Francisco District Attorney Office. Photo: Chesa Boudin District Attorney 2019 Photo: Chesa Boudin District Attorney 2019 Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Chesa Boudin wins San Francisco D.A. election 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Chesa Boudin will serve as San Francisco's next district attorney, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

Boudin, the most progressive candidate on the ballot, won a tight race against interim district attorney Suzy Loftus. Boudin held 85,950 votes as of Saturday afternoon, with about 1,200 ballots left to count, the Chronicle said. Loftus had 83,511 votes.

The 39-year-old won the seat following four days of ballot counting in the city's first open election for district attorney in over a century following sitting District Attorney George Gascon's departure to run for district attorney in Los Angeles.

"We are all feeling the momentum for change in this city!" Boudin tweeted Friday after learning he held a slight lead in the election.

The former deputy public defender ran on a campaign that promised to address racial disparity in the criminal justice system, mass incarceration and police accountability.

Michelle Robertson is a former SFGATE producer and freelance writer. Send her an email at michbrobertson@gmail.com.