On October 2, 2018, Gascón announced that he would not seek re-election, citing his mother's health.

[3] After Gascón announced in 2018 that he would not seek re-election, San Francisco anticipated its first open race for district attorney since 1909,[4] with candidates Chesa Boudin, Leif Dautch, Suzy Loftus, and Nancy Tung entering the race.

[5] After Gascón announced his resignation in October 2019 prior to the November 2019 election, Mayor London Breed appointed candidate Suzy Loftus as interim district attorney, whom Breed had endorsed in the November 2019 election.

[5] Loftus served as interim district attorney from October 19, 2019, until January 8, 2020, when winning candidate Boudin took office.

[9][10] Mayor London Breed, who had backed a more moderate Democrat in the 2019 district attorney race, named Brooke Jenkins, a former corporate lawyer and prosecutor in the district attorney's office as Boudin's replacement.