Mayoral election in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2025)
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← 2021
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| 2025 Harrisburg elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 11, 2025 (primary) & August 1, 2025 (general) |
| Primary election: May 20, 2025 General election: November 4, 2025 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2025 |
The city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is holding a general election for mayor on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for May 20, 2025. The filing deadline for primary candidates was March 11, 2025, and the withdrawal deadline for primary candidates was March 26, 2025. The filing deadline for general election candidates was August 1, 2025. The withdrawal deadline for independent candidates in the general election was August 8, 2025, and the withdrawal deadline for partisan candidates in the general election was August 11, 2025.
As of 2025, Harrisburg does not have term limits for the position of mayor. Mayors serve a four-year term.
Ballotpedia comprehensively covers the 100 largest cities in the United States by population. Our coverage also includes mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in the 32 state capitals that are not already part of our largest cities coverage. Please note that there may be more offices on the ballot in this capital city than what is listed on this page.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
Note: Ballotpedia will add the candidate list for this election once we have it.
General election
General election for Mayor of Harrisburg
Incumbent Wanda Williams and Dan Miller are running in the general election for Mayor of Harrisburg on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Wanda Williams (D) | |
 | Dan Miller (R)  | |
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| = 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
Incumbent Wanda Williams defeated Dan Miller, Lamont Jones, Tone Cook Jr., and Lewis Butts Jr. in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Harrisburg on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wanda Williams | 35.3 | 1,729 |
| Dan Miller | 33.7 | 1,649 | |
| Lamont Jones | 22.4 | 1,096 | ||
 | Tone Cook Jr. | 6.4 | 315 | |
| Lewis Butts Jr. | 1.8 | 90 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 14 | ||
| Total votes: 4,893 | |||
| = 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
Dan Miller advanced from the Republican primary for Mayor of Harrisburg on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Miller (Write-in) | 44.3 | 112 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 55.7 | 141 | ||
| Total votes: 253 | |||
| = 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, 2025
May 20, 2025
- Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2025
- City elections in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2025)
November 4, 2025
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Dan Miller (R)
Residents often rightfully complain about quality-of-life issues. Addressing these issues makes a neighborhood more vibrant and a much better place to live, while also reducing crime. Prompt response to quality-of-life issues allows residents to maintain their faith in government and view their community as safe. I am committed to solving quality-of-life issues promptly and providing safe and attractive neighborhoods for residents.
All of these are issues I plan to tackle promptly: street lights, potholes, abandoned vehicles, blight, trash dumping, improve road and pedestrian safety
I am a long-time financial professional with CPA and MBA credentials. After working with firms of all sizes, I established my own CPA firm in 1990 at 2nd and North Streets, where it thrived, created good-paying jobs, and continues to serve clients today. Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of individuals and businesses develop systems, manage finances, and navigate regulations. Harrisburg’s shaky finances urgently need the skills and experience I bring to the table.
Dan Miller (R)
As an avid gardener I purchased run down vacant lots in the city to create gardens. I manage a community garden that is enjoyed by the neighborhood and allows 20 different residents to garden. I planted street trees and commit to planting 1,000 trees in my term.
A walkable livable neighborhood for each city resident where services are close by would make city living attractive and enable us to thrive.
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Dan Miller (R)
Most recently I was endorsed by: LGBT Victory Fund GHAR - Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors
Center for Freethought Equality PAC
Dan Miller (R)
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 am the most qualified candidate because of my strong education, vast business experience and knowledge, accomplishments, city government experience and reputation for honesty and integrity. In addition to my professional business career, I have twenty years’ experience with the city of Harrisburg as Councilperson, Controller and Treasurer. As an elected official I have always fought for the best interest of residents. I have a BS in accounting, an MBA in finance, I am a CPA and I founded and managed a successful CPA Firm in downtown Harrisburg for 30+ years. I worked with hundreds of business and non-profit clients, small and large. I would be the first business professional to be mayor of the city in more than forty years. Currently, city management is highly inefficient I would be able to make significant improvements. I have served on many boards of directors, often involving discriminated and underserved communities. For the past 10 years I have served as Treasurer of the Community Check UP Center in south Harrisburg providing medical services to the uninsured. Previously I started both the LGBT Pride Festival and the LGBT Chamber of Commerce. I currently own and run a community garden in the 2200 block of Atlas Street. I have close ties to the general Harrisburg Community. I am by far the most qualified candidate in this race."
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Mayoral partisanship
Harrisburg has a Democratic mayor. As of September 2025, the mayors of 35 state capitals are affiliated with the Democratic Party, seven are Republicans, one is independent, and two are nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of five state capital mayors is unknown. While most mayoral elections in state capital cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party.
Help inform our readers
Take our candidate survey
- See also: Survey
At Ballotpedia, we believe that everyone deserves meaningful, reliable, trustworthy information about their candidates. We also know that good information—especially at the local level—is hard to find. That's why Ballotpedia created Candidate Connection.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Our survey helps voters better understand how their candidates think about the world and how they intend to govern—information they need to feel confident they're picking the best person for the role.
If you are a candidate, take our survey here. Or you can ask a candidate to take the survey by sharing the link with them.
Submit endorsements
Endorsements can be particularly helpful for voters trying to decide between candidates in local races, which often feature nonpartisan candidates. Endorsements from individuals and organizations can help voters better understand policy differences between candidates in these cases where little or no other news coverage of policy stances exists.
Candidates, share endorsements here. Readers, share endorsements you know about here.
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 |
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External links
Footnotes
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