James Oliphant

(Reuters) – Voters in San Francisco are poised to recall the city’s progressive district attorney, Chesa Boudin, on Tuesday in what has become a nationally watched test of frustrations over rising crime.

Residents of California have launched a multimillion dollar recall campaign against Boudin, claiming that Boudin is now an unsafe area to live in. The recall is supported by strong polls.

It has many backers who are Democrats, in a town where Republicans are an outsized minority. National polls show that Americans are becoming more concerned about the threat of violent crime.

Republicans are hoping to capitalize on this anxiety to win control of Congress during the November midterm elections. Republican-backed advertisements are running already in North Carolina and Wisconsin to address rising crime fears.

San Francisco has similar concerns to other cities, which saw gun violence rise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boudin was elected as a candidate in 2019. He promised criminal justice reforms to ensure that low-level offenders are not sent to jail, and juveniles don’t have to spend long terms behind bars. These policies are blamed by his critics for an increase of hate crimes and murders against Asian Americans, along with an increase in shootings and murders.

The defenders of his claim that the crime spike is due to the pandemic, and that the norms for criminal behavior are returning to the past. They contend the city’s swelling homeless population has distorted some residents’ perceptions of security.

This is San Francisco’s second recall attempt this year. Voters voted in three school board members to be fired from San Francisco this February.

Public safety in Los Angeles’ Downstate is the main issue in Tuesday’s mayoral election.

Rick Caruso (a former Republican) and Karen Bass (a top progressive in Congress), are likely to capture the majority of votes. If either candidate does not receive a majority vote they will face each other in a second round election.