Incumbent mayor London Breed, who had previously been elected in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, was reelected to a first full term in office.

[2] Ellen Lee Zhou was the conservative candidate in the race, running a campaign with pro-Donald Trump and pro-gun messaging.

[11] Shortly before the election, she erected a billboard on Dore Street featuring a caricature of Breed that many San Francisco politicians described as racist.

Although California municipal elections are nonpartisan, Ellen Lee Zhou, the second-place finisher and a self-described Republican, had the best performance for a candidate of her party in a San Francisco mayoral race since John Barbagelata in 1975.

In November 2022, San Francisco voters approved Proposition H, moving all future citywide elections to years that are multiples of four (thereby coinciding with presidential elections), beginning with 2024, and extending for one year the terms of incumbent citywide officeholders, including Breed.