Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was trailing in the election to recall her from office, based on early returns from the Alameda County Clerk of Voters late Tuesday.

With a vote of 64.22% in favor of recall to 35.78% against — with 35,367 votes counted of the city’s 252,382 registered voters — Thao appeared to have a steep climb to victory starting around 20: 20 Tuesday.

“We’re not surprised,” said recall spokesman Seneca Scott. “We knew all along that Sheng Thao would likely be recalled by an overwhelming margin.”

A spokesman for Thao’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The campaign to remove her from office was largely based on the perception of Oakland’s crime rate and the city’s current budget problems.

Proponents of the recall have successfully tapped into Oakland voters’ fears about crime, despite recent data showing a 33 percent drop in homicides in Oakland, zero homicides in October and an overall 37 percent drop in the crime rate from a year ago , according to the Oakland Police Department.

In her effort to keep her job, Thao’s committee, Oaklanders Defending Democracy, raised $120,381, while her opponents’ committee, Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, raised $602,483.

Much of Thao’s financial support came from labor unions, while her opponents were heavily funded by the Oakland Unites Foundation, which in turn received all of its money, $760,319, from a wealthy executive hedge fund and Piedmont resident Philip Dreyfuss.

Based on early results, Thao failed to bridge the spending gap, despite the recall effort being portrayed as an undemocratic power grab controlled by a wealthy out-of-towner meddling in Oakland’s civic life.

She also touted her efforts to reduce crime, warned of a potentially chaotic transition to a new mayor if the recall was successful, and assembled a list of supporters that included the city’s firefighters union, the influential SEIU 1021 and the Democratic Party of Alameda County.

Her opponents, including the Oakland branch of the NAACP and former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, among others, said her perceived missteps led to her political demise.

Supporters of the recall said they were upset by the firing of former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, a missed deadline to receive millions in state retail theft prevention grants and the use of one-time money from the sale of the city’s ownership of half of Oakland Coliseum to balance the city budget.

They said people no longer feel safe in Oakland, that businesses have neglected to worry about crime and that Thao has failed to end perceived lawlessness in the city.

Thao was also likely hurt in the polls by an FBI raid on her home, which is potentially linked to the well-connected Duong family, owners of the city’s recycling contractor, California Waste Solutions.

Neither she nor the Duongs have been charged with any crime, and it’s unclear what the FBI was looking for. Thao said she was told she was not the focus of the investigation.

If the results stand, the Oakland City Council president will step in as interim mayor until a special election could be held, likely in April.

The winner of that contest will serve out the remainder of Thao’s term — two more years — and then have to run for re-election.

A potential wrinkle to that plan, however, is that the incumbent, Nikki Fortunato Bas, is running for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

If she wins, the board would have to name another president, who would then take over temporarily for Thao.