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Mayoral election in Fort Wayne, Indiana (2023)
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Municipal • How to run for office |
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← 2019
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| 2023 Fort Wayne elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: February 3, 2023 (primary) & July 15, 2023 (general) |
| Primary election: May 2, 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 Fort Wayne, Indiana, held a general election for mayor on November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for May 2, 2023. The filing deadline for the primary was February 3, 2023, and the filing deadline for the general election was July 15, 2023.
Elections
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Candidates and results
General election
General election for Mayor of Fort Wayne
Incumbent Tom Henry defeated Thomas Didier in the general election for Mayor of Fort Wayne on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom Henry (D) | 51.9 | 23,947 |
 | Thomas Didier (R)  | 48.1 | 22,213 | |
| Total votes: 46,160 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Wayne
Incumbent Tom Henry defeated Jorge Fernandez in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Wayne on May 2, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom Henry | 78.0 | 5,863 |
 | Jorge Fernandez | 22.0 | 1,654 | |
| Total votes: 7,517 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mayor of Fort Wayne
Thomas Didier defeated Jason Arp, Eddie Ribel, and Jesse Crammer (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for Mayor of Fort Wayne on May 2, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Didier | 64.1 | 7,123 |
 | Jason Arp | 33.3 | 3,708 | |
| Eddie Ribel | 1.5 | 166 | ||
| Jesse Crammer (Unofficially withdrew) | 1.1 | 123 | ||
| Total votes: 11,120 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Indiana elections, 2023
May 2, 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.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I have worked consistently to put Fort Wayne first in a life of service to the local community. I was elected to represent Fort Wayne’s Third District on City Council in 2003 after defeating twenty-year incumbent Tom Henry. On council I never shied away from making tough decisions and standing behind them, like supporting the once-controversial Harrison Square development that brought Fort Wayne’s TinCaps downtown. I most recently held Mayor Henry accountable to the commitments the city made with the developers of the Electric Works project. Professionally I was in sales for U.S. Foods for over three decades. I got started cutting meat for my dad, Marshall, at Didier Meats and now help my sister at Tim Didier Meats. Every day he works with small businesses across Fort Wayne helping them meet their needs and keeping the local economy moving. I am a faithful Catholic and enjoys singing at church. Fort Wayne Komets fans know him from singing our National Anthem at many games. He is married to Mary (Gabet) Didier and has three children, Paul, Paige, and Lauren, and a grandson named Colton."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Fort Wayne 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's at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana. As of 2020, its population was 263,886.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Fort Wayne 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.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Fort Wayne, Indiana | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fort Wayne | Indiana | |
| Population | 263,886 | 6,785,528 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 110 | 35,826 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 72% | 82.3% |
| Black/African American | 15% | 9.4% |
| Asian | 5% | 2.4% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 2.3% |
| Multiple | 5.1% | 3.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.1% | 7.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89% | 89.3% |
| College graduation rate | 28.2% | 27.2% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $51,454 | $58,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.5% | 12.9% |
| 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
| Fort Wayne, Indiana | Indiana | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
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