Election results, 2023: Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population
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Thirteen of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population held general elections for mayor on November 7, 2023.
Party control of mayoral offices in two cities changed as a result of the November 7 election:
- Wichita, Kansas: Libertarian Lily Wu defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Brandon Whipple.
- Spokane, Washington: Democrat Lisa Brown defeated incumbent Republican mayor Nadine Woodward.
The mayoral election in Houston, Texas, advanced to a runoff between two Democratic candidates.
Heading into the November 7, 2023, elections, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 27 mayoral offices, independents held four, and four mayors were nonpartisan. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
In cities where mayoral elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
November 7 mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities
- See also: United States mayoral elections, 2023
Thirteen of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population held general elections for mayor on November 7, 2023:
| November 7 mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Incumbent | Incumbent running for re-election? | Winner | ||||
| Aurora, Colorado | Mike Coffman (R) | Yes | Mike Coffman (R) | ||||
| Boise, Idaho | Lauren McLean (D) | Yes | Lauren McLean (D) | ||||
| Charlotte, North Carolina | Vi Lyles (D) | Yes | Vi Lyles (D) | ||||
| Columbus, Ohio | Andrew J. Ginther (D) | Yes | Andrew J. Ginther (D) | ||||
| Durham, North Carolina | Elaine O'Neal (D) | No | Leonardo Williams (D) | ||||
| Fort Wayne, Indiana | Tom Henry (D) | Yes | Tom Henry (D) | ||||
| Houston, Texas | Sylvester Turner (D) | No | Advanced to runoff | ||||
| Indianapolis, Indiana | Joseph Hogsett (D) | Yes | Joseph Hogsett (D) | ||||
| Orlando, Florida | Buddy Dyer (D) | Yes | Buddy Dyer (D) | ||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | James Kenney (D) | No | Cherelle Parker (D) | ||||
| Spokane, Washington | Nadine Woodward (R) | Yes | Lisa Brown (D) | ||||
| Tucson, Arizona | Regina Romero (D) | Yes | Regina Romero (D) | ||||
| Wichita, Kansas | Brandon Whipple (D) | Yes | Lily Wu (L) | ||||
Mayoral partisanship in 2023
Mayoral elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2023. The following table shows the results of those elections:
The mayor of Santa Clarita, California, is selected by the members of the Santa Clarita City Council each December.[1] Councilmembers selected Cameron Smyth (R) as mayor on December 12, 2023.[2] Smyth succeeded Jason Gibbs (R).
Analysis for 2022
Sixteen of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population held general elections for mayor on November 8, 2022.
Party control of mayoral offices in three cities changed as a result of the November 8 election:
- Anaheim, California: Ashleigh Aitken (D) defeated Acting Mayor Trevor O'Neil (R) and two other candidates. Former mayor Harry Sidhu (R) resigned in May 2022.
- Chula Vista, California: John McCann (R) defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) in the election to succeed term-limited mayor Mary Salas (D).
- North Las Vegas, Nevada: Pamela Goynes-Brown (D) defeated Patricia Spearman (D) in the election to succeed outgoing mayor John J. Lee (R).[3]
Two November 8 mayoral elections advanced to runoffs: Austin, Texas and Laredo, Texas.
Heading into the November 2022 elections, the mayors of 62 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 29 mayoral offices, independents held four, and four mayors were nonpartisan. One mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown.
In cities where mayoral elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Analysis for 2021
Elections on Nov. 2, 2021, did not result in mayoral offices changing partisan control in any of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
Seventeen top-100 cities held general elections for mayor on Nov. 2. The election in Atlanta, Georgia, advanced to a runoff. Additionally, one Nov. 2 mayoral primary resulted in a mayor being elected outright in Hialeah, Florida.
Heading into the Nov. 2 election, 64 of the 100 largest cities' mayors were Democrats, 27 were Republicans, eight were either nonpartisan or independent, and one mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown. Two partisan changes had occurred earlier in 2021:
- Mayor John J. Lee of North Las Vegas, Nevada, announced that he was changing his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican on April 6, 2021.[4]
- David Bronson (R) assumed office as mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, on July 1, 2021, replacing nonpartisan Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson, who assumed office following the resignation of Ethan Berkowitz (D).[5]
In cities where mayoral elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
See also
- Election results, 2024: Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2023)
- Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2023
- Ballotpedia Email Updates
- Contact us
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Santa Clarita, "City Council," accessed December 14, 2022
- ↑ KHTS, "Smyth Sworn In As New Santa Clarita Mayor," December 12, 2023
- ↑ Lee was elected as a Democrat and switched parties in 2021.
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee says he’s becoming a Republican," April 6, 2021
- ↑ Anchorage Daily News, "Dave Bronson sworn in as mayor of Anchorage," July 1, 2021
