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Mayoral election in Lexington, Kentucky (2026)
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| 2026 Lexington elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: Pending |
| General election: TBA |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2026 |
The city of Lexington, Kentucky, is holding a general election for mayor in 2026.
Lexington has term limits for the position of mayor. Those limits are: Three consecutive four-year terms, may run again after a four year break.
Elections
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Mayoral partisanship
Lexington has a Republican mayor. As of September 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
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About the city
- See also: Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Fayette County, Kentucky. In 1974, the governments of the city of Lexington and Fayette County combined to create the current Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.[1] As of 2020, its population was 322,570.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Lexington 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 and 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 Lexington, Kentucky | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lexington | Kentucky | |
| Population | 322,570 | 4,505,836 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 283 | 39,491 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 73.7% | 86.2% |
| Black/African American | 14.6% | 8.1% |
| Asian | 4% | 1.5% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 1.1% |
| Multiple | 4.4% | 2.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.2% | 3.8% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 91.9% | 87.2% |
| College graduation rate | 45% | 25% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $58,954 | $52,238 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.8% | 16.6% |
| 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. | ||
See also
| Lexington, Kentucky | Kentucky | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
