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Mayoral election in Columbus, Ohio (2019)

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2021
2017
2019 Columbus elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: February 6, 2019
Primary election: May 7, 2019 (canceled)
General election: November 5, 2019
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor and city council
Total seats up: 5 (click here for other city elections)
Election type: Nonpartisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2019

The city of Columbus, Ohio, held a general election for mayor on November 5, 2019. A primary was scheduled for May 7, 2019, but it was canceled because Mayor Andrew Ginther was the sole candidate in the race as of the primary election date. On August 16, 2019, the Franklin County Board of Elections certified write-in candidate Jeffrey Lee Leopard for placement on the ballot.[1][2] The filing deadline for this election was February 6, 2019.

Incumbent Andrew Ginther won election in the general election for Mayor of Columbus.

Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Candidates and results

General election candidates

Endorsements

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Past elections

2015

See also: Columbus, Ohio municipal elections, 2015

The city of Columbus, Ohio, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary took place on May 5, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 4, 2015.[3][4] In the mayoral primary election, Andrew J. Ginther and Zach Scott advanced past Terry Boyd, Jeff Brown, Selina R. Miller and James C. Ragland.[5] Ginther defeated Scott in the general election. Incumbent Michael B. Coleman did not run for re-election.[6][7]

Mayor of Columbus, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Andrew J. Ginther 58.9% 95,676
Zach Scott 40.1% 65,236
Write-in votes 1.02% 1,661
Total Votes 162,573
Source: Franklin County Board of Elections, "2015 General Election Official Results," November 24, 2015


Mayor of Columbus, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngAndrew J. Ginther 51.8% 24,227
Green check mark transparent.pngZach Scott 18.3% 8,560
Terry Boyd 18.1% 8,461
James C. Ragland 11.9% 5,552
Total Votes 46,800
Source: Franklin County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed May 29, 2015

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Ohio elections, 2019

What's on your ballot?
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Mayoral partisanship

Once mayors elected in 2019 assumed office, the mayors of 65 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Out of the 31 mayoral elections that were held in 2019 in the 100 largest cities, five partisan changes occurred. Democrats gained three mayorships: two previously held by Republicans and one previously held by an independent. Republicans won one office held by an unaffiliated mayor, and one office where the incumbent's partisan affiliation was unknown.

In the elections in Phoenix, Arizona and Wichita, Kansas, Democrats won seats with Republican incumbents. In Wichita, Democrat Brandon Whipple defeated Republican incumbent Jeff Longwell. In Raleigh, North Carolina, a Democrat won a seat previously held by an independent. In Aurora, Colorado, a Republican succeeded an unaffiliated mayor. In Garland, Texas, a Republican succeeded a mayor with unknown party affiliation. Incumbents did not seek re-election in Phoenix, Raleigh, Aurora, or Garland.

Click here to learn more.

What was at stake?

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About the city

See also: Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the seat of Franklin County, Ohio, and is the state capital. As of 2010, its population was 787,033.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Columbus 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.[8]

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Columbus, Ohio
Columbus Ohio
Population 787,033 11,536,504
Land area (sq mi) 219 40,858
Race and ethnicity**
White 58.6% 81.3%
Black/African American 29% 12.4%
Asian 5.8% 2.2%
Native American 0.3% 0.2%
Pacific Islander 0% 0%
Other (single race) 2.1% 1%
Multiple 4.2% 2.9%
Hispanic/Latino 6.2% 3.8%
Education
High school graduation rate 89.8% 90.4%
College graduation rate 36.6% 28.3%
Income
Median household income $53,745 $56,602
Persons below poverty level 19.5% 14%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**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.


State profile

See also: Ohio and Ohio elections, 2019
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Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019

Presidential voting pattern

  • Ohio voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Congressional delegation

State executives

  • A Democrat held one, Republicans held eleven, and an independent held one of Ohio's 37 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
  • Ohio's governor was Republican Mike DeWine.

State legislature

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Ohio quick stats
  • Became a state in 1803
  • 17th state admitted to the United States
  • Ohio was the first non-colonial free state admitted to the union.
  • Members of the Ohio State Senate: 33
  • Members of the Ohio House of Representatives: 99
  • U.S. senators: 2
  • U.S. representatives: 16

More Ohio coverage on Ballotpedia:


Demographic data for Ohio
 OhioU.S.
Total population:11,605,090316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):40,8613,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:82.4%73.6%
Black/African American:12.2%12.6%
Asian:1.9%5.1%
Native American:0.2%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.5%3%
Hispanic/Latino:3.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:89.1%86.7%
College graduation rate:26.1%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,429$53,889
Persons below poverty level:19.6%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Ohio.
**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.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Nine of 88 Ohio counties—10.2 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Ashtabula County, Ohio 18.80% 12.78% 13.54%
Erie County, Ohio 9.48% 12.29% 13.86%
Montgomery County, Ohio 0.73% 4.62% 6.22%
Ottawa County, Ohio 19.51% 4.30% 6.24%
Portage County, Ohio 9.87% 5.52% 8.99%
Sandusky County, Ohio 22.58% 2.71% 4.64%
Stark County, Ohio 17.17% 0.47% 5.46%
Trumbull County, Ohio 6.22% 23.00% 22.43%
Wood County, Ohio 7.99% 4.84% 7.13%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Ohio with 51.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 43.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Ohio cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 93.3 percent of the time (28 out of 30 elections), more than any other state in the country. In that same time frame, Ohio supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 60 to 40 percent. Between 2000 and 2016, Ohio voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Ohio. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[9][10]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 35.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 33 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 34 points. Clinton won seven districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 60 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 17.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 66 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 28.3 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

See also

Columbus, Ohio Ohio Municipal government Other local coverage
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External links

Footnotes