How billionaire Levi's heir could become Democrats' next White House hope by defeating America's least popular mayor

A billionaire heir believes he tin cleanable up nan drug-infested streets of San Francisco against its slightest celebrated politician ever - and nan polls show he's convincing voters. 

Daniel Lurie is an heir to nan Levi Strauss denim luck and has a way grounds successful raising rate to tackle homelessness and supplier abuse.

But what excites nan Democratic Party is really Lurie, 47, succeeds arsenic a common-sense, law-and-order centrist, moreover arsenic critics cookware him arsenic a spot money babe and governmental novice.

A $1 cardinal aid from Lurie's billionaire mom, Mimi Haas, nan biggest stakeholder successful nan jeans giant, buoyed a record-breaking $8 cardinal run that's starting to look unstoppable.

The latest polls show Lurie, who has gained nationalist attention, is neck-and-neck pinch incumbent London Breed, who seeks reelection moreover arsenic criminals sew chaos and businesses and residents fly successful droves.

A San Francisco Chronicle study of immoderate 800 voters earlier this period shows Lurie and Breed each taking 27 percent of nan first-round of voting successful a section of 13 candidates.

The city's quirky ranked-choice strategy makes nan last result reliable to predict, but Lurie is champion positioned to summation much votes than Breed erstwhile stragglers are eliminated.

As last-placed candidates autumn off, their votes will select to remaining candidates. One analysis, pinch a notable separator of error, says Lurie's 56 percent last tally will trounce Breed's 44 percent.

Jonathan Brown, president of Sextant Strategies & Research, which conducted nan Chronicle's poll, said Lurie's costly advertizing blitz had paid disconnected by alerting voters to a viable challenger.

'People began to attraction connected what nan adjacent 4 years of nan metropolis will look like,' says Brown.

For Breed, 50, nan city's first achromatic female mayor, who's moving connected a committedness of much affordable housing, nan 'momentum was blunted,' adds Brown.

Lurie and different mean challengers opportunity Breed has grounded to free nan metropolis of nan shelter encampments and unfastened supplier dealing that blight parts of nan iconic metropolis of 809,000 people.

She's besides blamed for its slow betterment from nan pandemic, pinch nan desolate reality of a hollowed retired metropolis halfway successful which each shop successful immoderate unit blocks are shuttered and empty.

This week, Lurie campaigned successful nan downtrodden Tenderloin territory pinch his wife, Becca Prowda, vowing to 'do amended by those who are struggling pinch intelligence wellness issues and supplier crises.'

The dad-of-two has besides vowed to 'cut reddish tape' and 'support mini businesses,' and tackle crime pinch a 'new constabulary district' focused connected Union Square and different adjacent downtown areas.

A governmental outsider, he promises to put nan 'city backmost connected nan correct track' from crime, supplier use, and homelessness, utilizing skills gleaned from moving nan Tipping Point kindness he created successful 2005.

The longtime nonprofit executive has heavy ties to nan jean giant, which was founded successful nan West Coast metropolis by a hardworking German-Jewish migrant Levi Strauss backmost successful 1853.

The marque has since evolved into 1 of nan world's largest apparel firms - 1 that Lurie is poised to partially inherit.

Lurie's mom Mimi owns 11 percent of nan denim giant, making her its azygous largest shareholder.

She divided pinch Lurie's dad, Rabbi Brian Lurie, erstwhile he was a preteen, earlier marrying into nan Strauss family.

In a video to motorboat his campaign, Lurie slammed nan scourge of 20,000 group sleeping connected San Francisco's streets complete nan people of a twelvemonth and blamed reckless tax-and-spend policies.

'I emotion this city, but what we are seeing connected nan streets of San Francisco is not progressive,' he complained.

California has doled retired much than $20 cardinal statewide since 2020 connected lodging for nan bum - arsenic progressively brazen encampments stay communal not only successful San Francisco, but besides successful LA and Oakland.

'We person excessively galore group that person been successful powerfulness for acold excessively long, doing things nan aforesaid measurement they've ever been done,' Lurie said successful nan video.

'We request nan courageousness to effort to do things differently' he added, vowing to 'rip nan Band-Aid disconnected successful galore different departments.'

But arsenic Lurie has surged successful nan polls and looks progressively viable, he's faced fiercer criticism.

Garry Tan, nan CEO of San Francisco tech patient Y Combinator, warns that Lurie represents nan continuation of hard-left policies that person led to nan city's decline.

Progressive 'useful idiots and nan nonprofit swamp group are going to tally this municipality if you ballot this feline in,' Tan posted connected X.

One of Lurie's rivals, Mark Farrell, who concisely held nan mayorship earlier Breed, paints him arsenic a rookie who'll beryllium 'learning connected nan job.'

'Daniel Lurie is utilizing his inherited wealthiness to relentlessly onslaught maine and my family pinch lies and misleading information—flooding our TVs and mailboxes pinch a toxic smear campaign,' Farrell posted connected X.

'Instead of presenting a affirmative imagination for San Francisco, he's resorting to soiled politics, trying to deceive voters and distract from his deficiency of experience.'