San Francisco Mayoral Hopefuls Abandon Cash Restrictions

San Francisco mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty says he had to abandon his campaign promise to accept donations only from the city's residents for his campaign to remain viable.

Dufty, who could be San Francisco's first openly gay mayor, quietly abandoned his early promise in March, according to The New York Times. He and the deep-pocketed interim mayor Ed Lee initially said they would take money only from city donors, but both have since changed their tunes. Lee is the latest to have done so.

As of this quarter, Dufty has raised $229,000, half of which has been from benefactors outside of San Francisco. Among other candidates, entrepreneur Joanna Rees and Board of Supervisors president David Chiu each raised at least $200,000 from outside of the city.

"With the field as big as it was, it seems like it was really challenging to be limiting contributions," Dufty said, according to the Times.

Dufty sought support from the National Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which told him that he had to forgo the campaign finance restrictions to allow them to help him raise money. The Victory Fund raised more than $4 million last year for LGBT candidates across the country.