Yes. The San Francisco pattern has happened elsewhere, but unevenly. The clearest version is not “cities became conservative.” It is more like:
Very liberal cities elect progressive officials after 2020, especially around policing, prosecution, homelessness, and equity. Then voters get frustrated with crime, disorder, school dysfunction, downtown decline, or visible incompetence, and they punish the most symbolic progressive officials or policies.
Clear Cases Of Progressive Backlash
| City / Area | Progressive Wave | Backlash | What It Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | Chesa Boudin elected DA in 2019; progressive school board politics; criminal justice reform | 2022 school board recall; 2022 Boudin recall; later public-safety ballot measures | The clearest model: liberal voters recalled officials they saw as incompetent or too ideological |
| Seattle | Strong progressive/activist politics after 2020; “defund” energy; progressive city attorney candidate | 2021 Bruce Harrell beats Lorena González for mayor; Ann Davison beats abolitionist/progressive Nicole Thomas-Kennedy for city attorney; 2023 centrist council wins | Voters wanted public safety and order, but Seattle later showed progressives can rebound |
| Minneapolis | After George Floyd, activists pushed to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety | 2021 voters rejected the police-replacement charter amendment, 56% to 44%; Mayor Jacob Frey survived progressive challengers | Even in the city where George Floyd was killed, voters rejected the most sweeping police restructuring |
| Los Angeles County | George Gascón elected DA in 2020 on a progressive prosecutor platform | 2024 Nathan Hochman defeated Gascón after campaigning to reverse many of his policies | Major backlash against progressive prosecution in the largest county in America |
| Alameda County / Oakland area | Pamela Price elected DA in 2022 on reform platform | 2024 voters recalled her; about 63% supported recall | Bay Area backlash extended beyond San Francisco |
| New York City | Progressive surge in 2020–2021 city politics; left candidates gained influence | Eric Adams won 2021 mayoral race on public safety, policing, and order | A moderate/public-safety Democrat beat more progressive alternatives, though NYC later had renewed progressive strength |
| Chicago | Progressive frustration with policing and inequality; left activists strong | Lori Lightfoot lost badly in 2023 amid crime/dysfunction concerns; Paul Vallas, the law-and-order candidate, made runoff | But Chicago is mixed: Brandon Johnson, the progressive, ultimately beat Vallas |
1. Seattle
Seattle is probably the closest political cousin to San Francisco.
After 2020, Seattle had intense debates over policing, homelessness, encampments, and public disorder. Progressive candidates and activists were strong, but voters moved toward more moderate/public-safety candidates in 2021.
Key events:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Bruce Harrell defeated Lorena González for mayor. Harrell was generally seen as the more moderate, public-safety-oriented candidate. Source: Ballotpedia - Seattle mayoral election 2021 |
| 2021 | Ann Davison defeated Nicole Thomas-Kennedy for city attorney. Thomas-Kennedy was associated with abolitionist rhetoric and a far-left criminal justice posture. Source: 2021 Seattle City Attorney election |
| 2023 | Seattle City Council elections produced a more centrist council. One local urbanist summary said “centrists cleaned up.” Source: The Urbanist - Takeaways from Seattle’s 2023 Election |
But Seattle also shows the limit of the backlash theory: progressives later rebounded in some races. So it was not a permanent ideological conversion. It was a voter correction.
2. Minneapolis
Minneapolis is important because it was the symbolic center of post-George Floyd police reform.
After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, activists pushed a charter amendment to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety. That was one of the clearest “defund/replace the police” ballot tests in the country.
In November 2021, voters rejected it.
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No: about 56% | Voters rejected replacing MPD |
| Yes: about 44% | Strong support, but not enough |
| Mayor Jacob Frey survived | Frey opposed the measure and beat progressive challengers |
Sources: City of Minneapolis 2021 ballot results, Time - Minneapolis vote against replacing police department
.
This is a strong example of backlash, but specifically against the most sweeping police-reform proposal, not against all progressive politics.
3. Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County is one of the strongest examples because it involved the same issue as San Francisco: progressive prosecutors.
George Gascón was elected DA in 2020 on a reform platform. He reduced use of sentencing enhancements, opposed the death penalty, limited trying juveniles as adults, and became a national progressive prosecutor figure.
By 2024, voters removed him through a normal election, not a recall. Nathan Hochman defeated him while promising a “hard middle” approach and a reversal of many Gascón policies.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Hochman beats Gascón.
This is probably the cleanest “Boudin-style backlash” outside San Francisco.
4. Alameda County / Oakland
This is even closer geographically to San Francisco.
Pamela Price was elected Alameda County DA in 2022 on a progressive reform platform. Critics accused her of leniency, mismanagement, and insufficient attention to victims. Supporters said she was being attacked for trying to change a punitive system.
In 2024, voters recalled her. Reports put support for recall around 63%.
Sources: KTVU - Pamela Price concedes after recall, Politico - Progressive Bay Area prosecutor faces recall
.
This is a very strong example: another Bay Area progressive prosecutor elected after the reform wave, then removed amid crime/public-safety frustration.
5. New York City
New York City had a partial version of the backlash.
In 2021, Eric Adams won the Democratic mayoral primary and then the mayoralty by running heavily on public safety, policing, and restoring order. He defeated a field that included more progressive candidates.
Source: NYC Campaign Finance Board 2021–2022 Voter Analysis Report.
But New York is complicated. It did not become anti-progressive overall. The City Council still had many progressives, and later progressive/socialist candidates gained strength again. So NYC shows a backlash against disorder and crime, but not a wholesale rejection of the left.
6. Chicago
Chicago is mixed.
Lori Lightfoot lost badly in 2023, getting only about 17% in the first round. Crime, public safety, schools, labor fights, and her governing style hurt her badly. Paul Vallas, the more law-and-order candidate, made the runoff.
Source: Brookings - Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race.
But then Brandon Johnson, the progressive candidate backed by the teachers union, beat Vallas in the runoff. So Chicago shows voter anger at dysfunction, but not necessarily a moderate victory.
Places Where The Backlash Theory Is Weaker
| City | Why It’s Complicated |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia | Larry Krasner, the progressive DA, survived criticism and won reelection. He even won again after impeachment efforts. Source: Spotlight PA - Krasner wins primary |
| Portland | Portland had backlash energy around crime/homelessness, but in 2024 voters elected Keith Wilson, a more progressive/pragmatic homelessness-focused candidate, not the most law-and-order option. Source: Guardian - Portland elects progressive mayor |
| Boston | Michelle Wu, a progressive mayor, has remained politically strong. Not a clear backlash case. |
| Chicago | Voters rejected Lightfoot but chose Brandon Johnson over Vallas, so the result was not a simple moderate backlash. |
Best Summary
Yes, the backlash happened in multiple cities, especially around public safety and progressive prosecutors.
The strongest examples are:
- San Francisco: school board + Boudin recalls.
- Seattle: 2021–2023 moderate/public-safety wins.
- Minneapolis: voters rejected replacing the police department.
- Los Angeles County: Gascón defeated.
- Alameda County/Oakland: Pamela Price recalled.
But the pattern is not automatic. The real lesson is:
Urban voters may be socially liberal and still punish progressive officials when they associate them with disorder, crime, school dysfunction, homelessness mismanagement, or ideological distraction from basic governance. But if progressives present themselves as competent problem-solvers, they can survive or rebound.