The curse of the Mayor of San Francisco

As Gavin Newsom mulls a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010, he might want to consider the track record of his predecessors: no Mayor of San Francisco has been elected Governor since James Rolph won in 1930. The last three Mayors-turned-gubernatorial candidate have lost: Dianne Feinstein lost her bid for Governor in 1990 to Pete Wilson; Joseph Alioto was defeated by Jerry Brown in the 1974 Democratic primary; George Christopher lost the 1966 GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Alioto was the only sitting Mayor to run for Governor, although Christopher was the incumbent when he lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1962, running on a ticket with unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon.

If Brown runs for Governor in 2010, he could face Newsom in the Democratic primary.  If he wins, it would be the second time he defeated an incumbent San Francisco Mayor in a gubernatorial primary.