Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
Mayoral election in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2021)
 |
Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • How to run for office |
 |
2023 →
|
| 2021 Harrisburg elections |
|---|
 |
| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 9, 2021 (primary) & August 2, 2021 (general election) |
| Primary election: May 18, 2021 General election: November 2, 2021 |
| 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, 2021 |
The city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, held a general election for mayor on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for May 18, 2021. The filing deadline for the primary was March 9, 2021, and the filing deadline for the general election was August 2, 2021.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
Note: Write-in votes received by Eric Papenfuse (D) are reported in the Other/Write-in votes line.
General election
General election for Mayor of Harrisburg
Wanda Williams defeated Timothy Rowbottom and incumbent Eric Papenfuse in the general election for Mayor of Harrisburg on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Wanda Williams (D) | 65.0 | 4,429 |
| Timothy Rowbottom (R) | 6.9 | 470 | ||
 | Eric Papenfuse (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 28.2 | 1,920 | ||
| Total votes: 6,819 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mayor of Harrisburg
Wanda Williams defeated incumbent Eric Papenfuse, Dave Schankweiler, Otto Banks, and Kevyn Knox in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Harrisburg on May 18, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wanda Williams | 28.8 | 1,791 |
| Eric Papenfuse | 28.1 | 1,745 | |
| Dave Schankweiler | 21.6 | 1,339 | ||
| Otto Banks | 20.0 | 1,243 | ||
| Kevyn Knox | 1.1 | 66 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 25 | ||
| Total votes: 6,209 | |||
| = 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 Harrisburg
Timothy Rowbottom advanced from the Republican primary for Mayor of Harrisburg on May 18, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Timothy Rowbottom | 67.5 | 369 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 32.5 | 178 | ||
| Total votes: 547 | |||
| = 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: Pennsylvania elections, 2021
May 18, 2021
- Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2021
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2021
- Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2021
- Pennsylvania Question 1, Legislative Resolution to Extend or Terminate Emergency Declaration Amendment (May 2021)
- Pennsylvania Question 2, Emergency Declarations Amendment (May 2021)
- Pennsylvania Question 3, Equal Rights Regardless of Race or Ethnicity Amendment (May 2021)
- Pennsylvania Question 4, Municipal Fire and EMS Services Loans Measure (May 2021)
- City elections in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2021)
November 2, 2021
Mayoral partisanship
Fifteen state capitals held mayoral elections in 2021. The following office changed partisan control:
- Daniel Rickenmann (R) was elected as mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, on November 16, 2021. Incumbent Mayor Stephen Benjamin (D) did not run for re-election.
Once mayors elected in 2021 assumed office, the mayors of 38 state capitals were affiliated with the Democratic Party, six were Republicans, one was independent, and two were nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of three state capital mayors was unknown.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in local elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many areas. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local election. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
|
|
Ballotpedia invites candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the city
- See also: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is a city in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. As of 2020, its population was 50,099.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Harrisburg utilizes a strong mayor and city 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][2][3]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | ||
|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | Pennsylvania | |
| Population | 50,099 | 13,002,700 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 8 | 44,741 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 34.3% | 79.4% |
| Black/African American | 51.7% | 11.1% |
| Asian | 3.3% | 3.5% |
| Native American | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 5.4% | 2.4% |
| Multiple | 4.8% | 3.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 23.6% | 7.6% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 81.5% | 91% |
| College graduation rate | 22.6% | 32.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $41,831 | $63,627 |
| Persons below poverty level | 26.5% | 12% |
| 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
| Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
External links
Footnotes
| |||||||||
