With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Daly had 49 percent of the votes. His nearest competitor, attorney Rob Black, had 39 percent.

Though Daly enjoys a sizeable lead, it’s not enough for him to be named the official winner. San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting method requires a candidate to garner at least 50 percent of the vote to be named the outright winner. Elections officials are now tallying the second and third choices in District Six. They’ll use those numbers to determine the winner. The process count could continue through Friday.

Daly's supporters call him a passionate advocate. His critics call him antagonistic. At Tuesday's post-election party, Daly said he is maturing and indicated San Franciscans may see a different side of him during this term. "Over the past six years, I've definitely aged, I've definitely experienced, and that will continue to happen during my tenure," Daly said. "That said, I'm always going to stand up for what I believe in, I'm always going to fight for the less fortunate, I'm always going to strive towards justice. Daly greeted supporters on election night at a South of Market nightclub packed with a cross-section of District 6 residents, from young bike messengers to homeless senior citizens in wheel chairs. They all crammed in and feasted on pizza as a DJ spun reggae tracks. People crowded around a computer terminal in the corner to check the latest election results while Daly shook hands and danced. The scene was much different at the Black camp, on the other end of SOMA. Black's team gathered at the upscale hangout, MoMo's, across from AT&T Park. They sat at tables with white table cloths and dined on roast chicken, ravioli and fresh greens. Those who weren't monitoring results on their Blackberrys watched live election returns on two jumbo plasma screen televisions. Soon after polls closed, the Black campaign was feeling hopeful. Early results showed him in the lead. But, as more precints started reporting, those numbers changed and Black never regained his lead. Still, he remained hopeful. "I do think that we're going to pick up a lot of second and third place votes," Black said. "I'm just excited about where we are right now." The race for District 6 surprised many Daly supporters when it became much tighter, and more contentious, than they had ever imagined. Black is a political novice. However, as a former legislative aide to District 2 Supervisor Michaela Alioto-Pier, he worked closely with Mayor Gavin Newsom and won Newsom's endorsement. Two weeks ago, a poll commissioned by San Francisco's business community indicated Daly had reason to worry about his seat. It showed him trailing Black, 37 percent to 31 percent. The District 6 race was seen as not just a neighborhood contest, but a snapshot of the issues that divide the city. “This is really the two big tectonic plates in the city fighting it out again,” said Corey Cook, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco. “It’s the big fight.” The dividing line: urban development. District 6 encompasses San Francisco’s Inner Mission, Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, as well as Treasure Island. All of those neighborhoods included some of the city’s most affordable housing in 2000, when Daly was first elected. That’s still largely true today, though the real estate is among the city’s most attractive to upscale developers. A large part of Black's platform included plans to clean up the district, particularly the Tenderloin, where prostitutes, drug users and the homeless congregate. “People throughout the district say two main things: it’s dirty and it’s dangerous,” said Black. “Supervisor Daly has been there for six years and he hasn’t done anything to address it.” Daly painted a different picture with his message to voters on his campaign website, pointing to efforts to help people get off the streets by increasing the amount of money allocated to housing for seniors, families with disabilities and the formerly homeless. Daly also emphasized his leadership in bringing 10,000 new housing units to District 6 while preserving available rental housing. Daly supporters say keeping District 6 affordable is a matter of preserving San Francisco’s reputation as a haven for people from all walks of life. “If this becomes a city where only the rich can afford to live, you’ll be holding the title to a town that’s devoid of culture,” said Ted Strawsen, who spent the Saturday before Halloween campaigning for Daly outside a Safeway store in the Inner Mission. Seven blocks away, Daly passed out campaign flyers at 16th and Valencia Streets. As Daly smiled and greeted voters in a soft-spoken voice, there was no trace of the sporadic temper tantrums that have been the focus of intense media attention throughout his six years at City Hall. It came to a head in 2004, when Alioto-Pier introduced a measure to censure Daly after he told a landlord rights’ advocate to “f*ck off” during a hearing on tenants’ rights. The censure motion was defeated by a vote of 8-2, with Supervisors Alioto-Pier and Sean Elsbernd the only supporters. Though the outbursts have made Daly a bit of a hero to some in his district, it’s not a role he relishes. When District 6 resident Rick Valentine approached Daly during his Saturday morning campaigning to compliment him on his renegade style, Daly threw it back at his City Hall opponents. “I’m not a renegade,” he said. “I’m just me. They’re the renegades. I just do what I have to do.” Black’s campaign tried to capitalize on Daly’s well documented personality clashes. “I think people want a bridge builder, not a bomb thrower,” Black said. “I think people want discussion about how we’re going to move forward.” On election night, Daly seemed ready to move on, too. "To my critics, come on over to the party, it's the best party in San Francisco tonight," said Daly.