Election law changes? Our legislation tracker’s got you. Check it out!

City elections in Newark, New Jersey (2026)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • School boards • How to run for office
Flag of New Jersey.png


2025
2026 Newark elections
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Election dates
Filing deadline: February 26, 2026
General election: May 12, 2026
Runoff election: June 9, 2026
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor and city council
Total seats up: (click here for mayoral elections)
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2026

The city of Newark, New Jersey, is holding general elections for mayor and city council on May 12, 2026. A runoff election is scheduled for June 9, 2026. The filing deadline for this election is February 26, 2026.

Click here to learn more about the city's mayoral election.

Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Help inform our readers

Take our candidate survey

See also: Survey

At Ballotpedia, we believe that everyone deserves meaningful, reliable, trustworthy information about their candidates. We also know that good information—especially at the local level—is hard to find. That's why Ballotpedia created Candidate Connection.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Our survey helps voters better understand how their candidates think about the world and how they intend to govern—information they need to feel confident they're picking the best person for the role.

If you are a candidate, take our survey here. Or you can ask a candidate to take the survey by sharing the link with them.

Submit endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Endorsements can be particularly helpful for voters trying to decide between candidates in local races, which often feature nonpartisan candidates. Endorsements from individuals and organizations can help voters better understand policy differences between candidates in these cases where little or no other news coverage of policy stances exists.

Candidates, share endorsements here. Readers, share endorsements you know about here.


About the city

See also: Newark, New Jersey

Newark is a city in Essex County, New Jersey. As of 2020, its population was 311,549.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

Since 1953, the city of Newark has utilized a mayor-council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Newark, New Jersey
Newark New Jersey
Population 311,549 9,288,994
Land area (sq mi) 24 7,354
Race and ethnicity**
White 26.8% 65.5%
Black/African American 49.5% 13.4%
Asian 1.8% 9.7%
Native American 0.4% 0.3%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0%
Other (single race) N/A 6.4%
Multiple 6.6% 4.8%
Hispanic/Latino 36.7% 20.4%
Education
High school graduation rate 76.5% 90.3%
College graduation rate 15.5% 40.7%
Income
Median household income $37,476 $85,245
Persons below poverty level 26.3% 9.7%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Municipal government Other local coverage
Seal of Newark.png
Seal of New Jersey.png
Municipal Government Final.png
Local Politics Image.jpg

External links

Footnotes