Billionaire heir Daniel Lurie defeated Mayor London Breed and a crowded field of rivals to win the San Francisco mayoral race, earning his first term leading California's fourth-largest city. Lurie,

Lurie, a philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, was ahead of incumbent Mayor London Breed as initial votes in the ranked choice mayoral race came Tuesday night.

While Breed, the first Black woman mayor of San Francisco, was seen as among the most progressive leaders in the city's history, Lurie took a more moderate, centrist approach throughout his campaign. Having survived allegations of buying the race, Lurie will now look to implement a series of changes when he takes office on Jan. 6.

San Francisco’s mayoral race was still undecided on Wednesday evening, but Daniel Lurie, who spent $8 million of his own money to finance his campaign, is leading against incumbent mayor London Breed.

He spent more on his campaign staff and political consultants, more on television advertising and more on polling in his quest to achieve a relatively uncommon feat in American politics — being elected mayor of a big city without any previous experience in government or business.

San Francisco’s mayor-elect Daniel Lurie (D), who won over the incumbent last week, discussed Democrats’ losses and his success in an interview Tuesday. CNN’s Erin Burnett pressed Lurie on the impact of the election results on Democrats.

San Francisco elects its mayor using a ranked choice voting system that allows voters to list up to 10 candidates in order of preference. Lurie was leading Breed in early returns. Lurie, who has never held elective office, pledged to bring accountability and public service back to City Hall, and reveled in his role as a political outsider.