The chair of San Francisco's Republican Party told Newsmax Wednesday how progressives ended up running the city.
John Dennis, who in 2022 ran for Congress against then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told "Prime News" that the city used to elect more moderate politicians, but that's gone out the window in the past decade or so.
Dennis said, "If you look at the city's history, we tended to elect sort of centrist mayors and even centrist board of supervisors, with some sprinkling of progressive, interesting, you know, characters."
He said that changed about 10 to 20 years ago.
"Progressives took over the Democratic Central Committee, and they endorsed candidates downballot who ended up rising up and taking over the city. And that's why we're driven by the progressives here."
Regarding San Francisco's high crime rate and slow police response time, Dennis said, "It's so dangerous now that the police tend to only respond immediately when there's imminent danger of threat, when they hear that a gun is involved or maybe a knife."
He added, "But beyond that, you know, robbery and stealing is just so prevalent that if they get to you, it'll take many, many hours."
Dennis also commented on San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is in a tight race for reelection in November.
Dennis said it's possible Breed could win, but that the city's "funny" ranked-choice voting system means that several candidates have a decent chance of winning.
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Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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