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Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2024)

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2025
2023
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List of current mayors of the top 100 cities
Party affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities
List of current city council officials

Partisanship in United States municipal elections
20232022202120202019201820172016


Click here to view results of the November 5 election.


Forty-one mayoral elections took place in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and the 50 state capitals in 2024.

Thirty-four of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2024.[1] Heading into the year, 18 of those cities had a Democratic mayor, meaning 29% of the 63 Democratic-led cities held mayoral elections. Eleven cities that held elections had a Republican mayor at the start of the year, meaning 42% of the 26 Republican-led cities held elections. The remaining five top-100 cities that held elections in 2024 started the year with independent or nonpartisan mayors.

Elections in six top-100 cities resulted in a change in party control, for a net gain of one for Democrats and a net loss of one for Republicans.[2]One mayor also announced a change in partisan affiliation.

Once mayors elected in 2024 were sworn in, there were 65 Democratic mayors, 25 Republican mayors, one Libertarian mayor, two independent mayors, four nonpartisan mayors, and three mayors with unknown party affiliation.

Between 2016 and 2024, the number of Democratic-led top-100 cities ranged from 61 to 65, and the number of Republican-led cities ranged from 26 to 30. The year with the highest number of elections resulting in an office changing party control was 2020, with seven.

Fourteen state capitals held mayoral elections in 2024, including seven capitals that fell outside of the top 100 cities. At the beginning of 2024, eight of those capitals had a Democratic mayor, and one had a Republican mayor. The other incumbents were independent or nonpartisan, or their partisan affiliations were unknown. Heading into 2024, 37 state capital mayors were affiliated with the Democratic Party, six were Republicans, one was independent, two were nonpartisan, and four mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown. Click here for more information about state capital mayoral elections in 2024.

Of the 41 cities with mayoral elections in 2024, 38 held nonpartisan elections, and three held partisan elections. Click here to learn about how Ballotpedia identifies the partisan affiliation of mayors in cities with nonpartisan mayoral elections.

On this page you will find:

Tracking mayoral party affiliation in the top 100 cities

See also: List of current mayors of the top 100 cities in the United States

At the start of 2024, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 26 mayoral offices, Libertarians held one office, independents held four, and four mayors were nonpartisan. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.

The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2024:[2]

Once mayors elected in 2024 assumed office, 65 top-100 mayors were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 were Republicans, two were independents, and four were nonpartisan. Three mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown.

Methodology

Ballotpedia has tracked the partisan affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities since 2016, and we've tracked the partisan affiliation of state capital mayors since 2021. In cities where mayoral elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation:

  1. Direct communication from the officeholder,
  2. Previous candidacy for partisan office, or
  3. Identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.

To view a breakdown of the partisan affiliation of mayors of the top 100 cities since 2016, click here.

Top-100 mayoral elections in 2024

Mayoral elections were held in 34 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2024. The following table shows the results of those elections.

The mayor of Santa Clarita, California, is selected by the members of the Santa Clarita City Council each December.[5] Councilmembers selected Bill Miranda (R) as mayor on December 10.[6] Miranda succeeded Cameron Smyth (R).


State capital mayoral elections in 2024

Fourteen state capitals held mayoral elections in 2024, including seven capitals that fell outside of the top 100 cities. As of 2024, 32 state capitals fell outside of the top 100 U.S. cities by population. The following table shows state capital mayoral elections that occurred in 2024.

Mayoral partisanship: 2016-2024

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of mayors of the top 100 cities at the start of each year since 2016.

Battleground elections

Ballotpedia covered 41 mayoral elections in 2024. This included 34 mayoral elections in the 100 largest U.S. cities and seven state capitals that did not fall into the top 100 cities.

Click below to expand summaries of key 2024 mayoral battleground elections.


Mayors of the 100 largest cities

See also: List of current mayors of the top 100 cities in the United States

To view a list of the current mayors of the top 100 U.S. cities by population, click here.

See also

Footnotes

  1. This number does not include Santa Clarita, California. The members of the Santa Clarita City Council select one member as mayor each December.
  2. 2.0 2.1 As of January 7, 2025, the party affiliation of one mayor elected in 2024 was unknown. Ballotpedia contacted El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson's campaign in December to inquire about his party affiliation and had not yet received a reply. As incumbent Oscar Leeser was a Democrat, this decreased the net gain for Democrats from two to one.
  3. [San Antonio Express-News, "‘I’m a Democrat’: Mayor Ron Nirenberg campaigns for Kamala Harris, embraces party label," September 14, 2024]
  4. [San Antonio Express-News, "‘I’m a Democrat’: Mayor Ron Nirenberg campaigns for Kamala Harris, embraces party label," September 14, 2024]
  5. City of Santa Clarita, "City Council," accessed December 14, 2022
  6. KHTS, "Miranda Sworn In As Santa Clarita Mayor For 2025," December 10, 2024
  7. Alaska Public Media, "Former Anchorage Assembly chair Suzanne LaFrance to run for mayor next year," May 9, 2023
  8. Suzanne LaFrance campaign website, "Home page," accessed February 6, 2024
  9. Alaska Public Media, "Bronson and LaFrance prepare for runoff in Anchorage mayoral election," April 2, 2024
  10. Alaska Public Media, "Two years into his tenure, Anchorage Mayor Bronson reflects on homeless policy, shelter plans and Assembly relationship," August 2, 2023
  11. Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor on August 6, 2023," accessed February 5, 2024
  12. The Northern Light, "After Anchorage’s municipal election, Dave Bronson and Suzanne LaFrance tee-up for a runoff challenge," April 9, 2024
  13. Facebook, "Dave Bronson for Mayor on February 1, 2024," accessed February 6, 2024
  14. Twitter, "The Alaska Democratic Party on January 6, 2024," accessed February 6, 2024
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 The Baltimore Sun, "Only Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is running again for sure. What if Sheila Dixon turns 2024 into a head-on contest?" August 28, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "BSunAug28" defined multiple times with different content
  16. Sheila Dixon campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 7, 2024
  17. WBAL-TV, "Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott seeks reelection in 2024," November 19, 2023
  18. NBC News, "Baltimore mayor resigns under plea deal," January 7, 2010
  19. WBAL-TV, "Sheila Dixon announces candidacy for Baltimore mayor again," September 7, 2023
  20. Bob Wallace campaign website, "Meet Bob," accessed March 7, 2024
  21. Vimeo, "Bob Wallace Campaign Ad," September 22, 2020
  22. Bob Wallace campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 7, 2024
  23. The Baltimore Sun, "Baltimore hasn't elected a Republican mayor since the 1960s. Meet the people trying to change that." August 27, 2019
  24. 3 News Las Vegas, "Las Vegas mayor gives final State of City address as Goodman family dynasty closes," January 12, 2024
  25. City Cast Las Vegas, "Steve Sebelius on the Mayoral Legacy of Oscar and Carolyn Goodman," April 22, 2024
  26. Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project, "Shelley Berkley," accessed May 14, 2024
  27. 27.0 27.1 KTNV 13 Las Vegas, "EXCLUSIVE: Former U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley announces plans to run for Las Vegas mayor," January 5, 2023
  28. Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Seaman declares bid for Las Vegas mayor, touts ‘keen ability’," February 9, 2023
  29. Victoria Seaman 2024 campaign website, "Issues," accessed May 14, 2024
  30. 30.0 30.1 Las Vegas Sun, "Las Vegas vs. Clark County: There are differences between living in city limits and unincorporated county land," July 12, 2019
  31. This number does not include Santa Clarita, California. The members of the Santa Clarita City Council select one member as mayor each December.
  32. OPB, "Keith Wilson will be Portland’s next mayor," November 6, 2024
  33. FairVote, "Electoral Systems," accessed July 7, 2017
  34. MinneapolisMN.gov, "Frequently Asked Questions about Ranked-Choice Voting," accessed July 7, 2017
  35. OPB.org, "Portland is overhauling its voting system and government structure. Here’s what you need to know," July 29, 2024
  36. Oregon Live, "Keith Wilson is running for Portland mayor on one bold idea to end homelessness. Will voters buy it?" October 6, 2024
  37. KOIN, "Mayoral hopeful Rene Gonzalez proposes tougher enforcement of camping ban," April 17, 2024
  38. KGW8, "Liv Osthus running for Portland mayor talks homeless, climate plan," September 23, 2024
  39. Associated Press, "19 mayoral candidates compete to lead Portland, Oregon, in a race with homelessness at its heart," October 16, 2024
  40. KGW8, "Top takeaways from the Portland mayoral debate on KGW," October 15, 2024
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 Portland Mercury, "Meet Your Portland 2024 Mayoral Candidates," October 17, 2024
  42. KOIN, "Mingus Mapps’ mayoral pitch: ‘Consider ranking me #1’," October 19, 2024
  43. Keith Wilson 2024 campaign website, "Home," accessed October 20, 2024
  44. Axios San Francisco, "Voter guide: Meet SF's leading mayoral candidates," August 28, 2024
  45. ABC7 News, "Can San Francisco fix its public image? Mayoral hopefuls vow to restore the iconic city," accessed October 7, 2024
  46. ABC7 News, "Can San Francisco fix its public image? Mayoral hopefuls vow to restore the iconic city," October 4, 2024
  47. ABC7 News, "What top SF mayoral candidates say about city's homelessness problem," October 3, 2024
  48. San Francisco Board of Supervisors, "Former Supervisor London Breed - District 5," accessed September 24, 2024
  49. London Breed 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed September 24, 2024
  50. London Breed 2024 campaign website, "Medi," accessed September 24, 2024
  51. London Breed 2024 campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 24, 2024
  52. San Francisco Board of Supervisors, "Former Supervisor Mark Farrell - District 2," accessed September 24, 2024
  53. Mark Farrell 2024 campaign website, "Home," accessed September 24
  54. Linkedin, "Daniel Lurie," accessed September 24, 2024
  55. Daniel Lurie 2024 campaign website, "Priorities," accessed September 24, 2024
  56. Youtube, "Daniel Lurie," September 22, 2024
  57. Aaron Peskin 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed October 7, 2024
  58. Aaron Peskin 2024 campaign website, "Platform," accessed October 7, 2024