Billing herself as an "actual moderate" to contrast with the three other main candidates running for San Francisco's seat in the US House of Representatives, former Republican Trump appointee to the Presidio Trust Marie Hurabiell seems to think she has a shot in November.

Let's just say that trying to cast Scott Wiener as anything but moderate in a San Francisco election — particularly one in which he has already been forced to reverse his stance on whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza — seems like an error from the outside. But Marie Hurabiell has declared her candidacy for Pelosi's congressional seat, throwing her hat in a race that has so far been a three-way one.

"San Franciscans deserve a Congressperson who represents their values — not the extreme, progressive agenda that has failed our beautiful city,” says Hurabiell in a statement. "I’ve done a lot to fight back against radicalism in San Francisco, promoting commonsense policies and leaders. Now, I’m ready to do the same in Washington."

And Huriabell is cast as a "Lurie ally" in the SF Standard, where she gave an exclusive interview on her announcement day, calling herself the "actual moderate" in the race. "I looked around and realized that there was no other viable moderate getting into the race," she says. "I have decided that it’s the right thing to do.”

Is it telling that the conservative New York Post, which now has a California arm, also jumped on the news? They also characterize the other three candidates, Wiener, SF Supervisor Connie Chan, and tech founder Saikat Chakrabarti as "a field of progressives," when we all know that by San Francisco standards, Wiener has been a moderate through and through.

I'd also question this statement: "The three current candidates in the race are essentially fighting for the same group of voters, and the rest of San Franciscans feel left out," Hurabiell tells the Standard. "People are begging for an actual moderate, an actual adult in the room to come forward."

Some may recall that Hurabiell unsuccessfully ran for the SF Community College Board in 2022, pulling in just 6.6% of the vote. As KQED reported at the time, she was quickly called out for a tweet in which she went full MAGA about critical race theory, or CRT, tweeting, rather confusingly, "CRT was a tactic used by Hitler and the KKK." That probably didn't do her any favors — and it still won't as she runs for a much higher office than Community College Board.

Hurabiell became a Democrat that year as she chose to run in that election, and previously she was a Trump appointee to the Presidio Trust. Since then, she founded the political advocacy group ConnectedSF, and helped in the campaign to recall DA Chesa Boudin.

Another mark against her in largely liberal San Francisco: As recently as 2025, as KRON4 notes, she tweeted "Trans women are NOT women."

Good luck, Ms. Hurabiell. You'll probably get a few Pac Heights Republicans to light some cash on fire in your honor.