1979 San Francisco mayoral election

1979 San Francisco mayoral election

November 6, 1979 (first round)
December 11, 1979 (runoff)
 
Candidate Dianne Feinstein Quentin L. Kopp David Scott
First round 81,115
46.63%
77,784
44.72%
18,506
9.6%
Runoff 102,233
53.96%
87,226
46.04%
Eliminated

Mayor before election

Dianne Feinstein

Elected mayor

Dianne Feinstein

The 1979 mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of San Francisco. Incumbent mayor Dianne Feinstein, who had succeeded George Moscone after his assassination the prior year, was elected to her first full term as mayor of the City and County, the first woman to be elected to the position in the city's history. Feinstein, with 46.63%, and Quentin L. Kopp, with 44.72%, were the top two finishers in the first-round, and advanced to a runoff. In the first round the two of them had beat out former Board of Permit Appeals president David Scott, musician Jello Biafra, and six other candidates.

Feinstein and Kopp participated in the December 11 runoff, in which Feinstein won with 53.96% over Kopp's 46.04%. Feinstein was sworn into office on January 1, 1980.