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Mayoral election in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2020)
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| 2020 Baton Rouge elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 24, 2020 |
| Primary election: November 3, 2020 General election: December 5, 2020 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: mayor-president |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2020 |
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held a general election for mayor-president on December 5, 2020. A primary was scheduled for November 3, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was July 24, 2020.
Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Louisiana modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: The absentee ballot application used in the general election included COVID-19 specific reasons for requesting an absentee ballot.
- Candidate filing procedures: The candidate qualifying deadline was extended to July 24, 2020. The deadline by which a ballot-qualified party must notify the state of its presidential nominee was extended from August 18, 2020, to August 25, 2020.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Elections
Note: The city of Baton Rouge operates under a consolidated government with the Parish of East Baton Rouge. Members of the Metro Council are elected through 12 districts within the parish. The mayor-president is elected by the entire parish. The cities of Central, Baker, and Zachary each have their own governing bodies, but residents are able to vote for the mayor-president and members of the Metro Council.[1]
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Mayor of Baton Rouge
Incumbent Sharon Weston Broome defeated Steve Carter in the general election for Mayor of Baton Rouge on December 5, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sharon Weston Broome (D) | 56.5 | 65,495 |
| Steve Carter (R) | 43.5 | 50,353 | ||
| Total votes: 115,848 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Baton Rouge
The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Baton Rouge on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sharon Weston Broome (D) | 48.1 | 98,722 |
| ✔ | Steve Carter (R) | 19.9 | 40,757 | |
 | Matthew Watson (R) | 13.2 | 27,062 | |
| Jordan Piazza (R) | 9.8 | 20,012 | ||
 | Denise Marcelle (D) | 7.1 | 14,603 | |
| E Eric Guirard (Independent) | 1.4 | 2,968 | ||
| Frank Smith (R) | 0.5 | 978 | ||
| Total votes: 205,102 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Tara Wicker (D)
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Louisiana elections, 2020
Mayoral partisanship
Once mayors elected in 2020 assumed office, the mayors of 65 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party.
Mayoral elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2020. Seven party changes took place as a result of these 29 elections. Five offices held by Republican incumbents and two offices held by Democratic incumbents changed partisan control.
In Scottsdale, Arizona, independent David Ortega won the open seat. Incumbent Jim Lane (R) was term-limited. In Irvine, California, Democrat Farrah Khan defeated incumbent Christina Shea (R). In San Diego, California, Democrat Todd Gloria won the open seat. The incumbent, Kevin Faulconer (R), was term-limited. In Stockton, California, Republican Kevin Lincoln II defeated incumbent Michael Tubbs (D). In Honolulu, Hawaii, independent Rick Blangiardi won the open seat. Democratic mayor Kirk Caldwell was term-limited. In El Paso, Texas, Democrat Oscar Leeser defeated incumbent Donald Margo (R). In Corpus Christi, Texas, nonpartisan Paulette Guajardo defeated incumbent Joe McComb (R).
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is a city in Louisiana. Since 1947, its government has been consolidated with that of East Baton Rouge Parish.[2] As of 2020, its population was 227,470.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Baton Rouge uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[2][3]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge | Louisiana | |
| Population | 227,470 | 4,657,757 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 86 | 43,210 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 38.1% | 61.2% |
| Black/African American | 53.5% | 32.2% |
| Asian | 3.7% | 1.7% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 1.6% |
| Multiple | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4.1% | 5.2% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 87.4% | 85.9% |
| College graduation rate | 34.9% | 24.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $44,177 | $50,800 |
| Persons below poverty level | 24.4% | 18.6% |
| 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. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Louisiana. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
See also
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Louisiana | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
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