Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2023)
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| 2023 Charlotte elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 21, 2023 |
| Primary election: September 12, 2023 General election: November 7, 2023 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2023 |
The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, held a general election for mayor on November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for September 12, 2023. A primary runoff was scheduled for October 10, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was July 21, 2023.
Elections
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Candidates and results
General election
General election for Mayor of Charlotte
Incumbent Vi Alexander Lyles defeated Misun Kim and Rob Yates in the general election for Mayor of Charlotte on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Vi Alexander Lyles (D) | 73.6 | 64,564 |
Misun Kim (R)  | 21.3 | 18,713 | ||
 | Rob Yates (L) | 4.7 | 4,087 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 317 | ||
| Total votes: 87,681 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mayor of Charlotte
Incumbent Vi Alexander Lyles defeated Lucille Puckett in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Charlotte on September 12, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vi Alexander Lyles | 85.4 | 20,109 |
 | Lucille Puckett | 14.6 | 3,449 | |
| Total votes: 23,558 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Misun Kim advanced from the Republican primary for Mayor of Charlotte.
Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Rob Yates advanced from the Libertarian primary for Mayor of Charlotte.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2023
September 12, 2023
November 7, 2023
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
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Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "My name is Misun Kim, and I am running for office to bring economic growth and prosperity to the people of Charlotte. For too long, Charlotte politicians have focused on their political backing instead of supporting the citizens - I will change that. My platform focuses on growing small businesses, developing new educational opportunities for our children and young adults in the community, and revitalizing the uptown business district."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Charlotte in 2023.
Party: Libertarian Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am not a complicated person. I came up poor, though I didn't know it until later, which shaped me at a deep level. I like helping people, and I don't think I deserve any special accolades for that. I like music a lot, and the beach is my favorite place to be. I love this state, and this city, and I hate to see it fall apart, not because of people that want to hurt it, but because of people who think that they are helping."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Charlotte in 2023.
Mayoral partisanship
Twenty-nine of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2023. Once mayors elected in 2023 assumed office, Democrats held 63 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans held 26, Libertarians held one, independents held four, and nonpartisan mayors held four. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2023:
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: Independent Yemi Mobolade defeated Republican Wayne W. Williams in the May 16 runoff election. Incumbent John Suthers, a Republican, was term-limited.
- Jacksonville, Florida: Democrat Donna Deegan defeated Republican Daniel Davis in the May 16 runoff election. Incumbent Lenny Curry, a Republican, was term-limited.
- Dallas, Texas: Mayor Eric Johnson announced on September 22 that he was changing his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.[1]
- Wichita, Kansas: Libertarian Lily Wu defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Brandon Whipple in the November 7 general election.
- Spokane, Washington: Democrat Lisa Brown defeated incumbent Republican mayor Nadine Woodward in the November 7 general election.
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: Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is a city located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. As of 2020, its population was 874,579.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
Since 1929, the city of Charlotte has utilized a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Charlotte, North Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | North Carolina | |
| Population | 874,579 | 10,439,388 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 309 | 48,623 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 46.7% | 67.6% |
| Black/African American | 35.5% | 21.4% |
| Asian | 6.6% | 3% |
| Native American | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 3.2% |
| Multiple | 4.1% | 3.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 14.6% | 9.5% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.4% | 88.5% |
| College graduation rate | 44.8% | 32% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $65,359 | $56,642 |
| Persons below poverty level | 11.9% | 14% |
| 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
| Charlotte, North Carolina | North Carolina | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
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