United States municipal elections, 2019

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Elections were held in 63 of America's 100 largest cities by population in 2019. That included elections for mayor in 31 of the 100 largest cities. This page provides links to Ballotpedia's coverage of 2019 municipal elections in those 63 cities, along with elections in counties that overlap with them.

The cities listed on this page had a total population of 47.3 million according to 2013 United States census data.

During the 2019 election cycle, Ballotpedia temporarily expanded its coverage of North Carolina in order to provide voters with a comprehensive statewide sample ballot. This coverage included North Carolina elections spanning 503 cities, towns, and villages, nine school districts, and 17 special districts. No North Carolina counties held elections in 2019. Click here for more information about North Carolina's local elections.

Below, you will find the following:


Battleground election summary

Ballotpedia designated certain 2019 elections as battlegrounds—races expected to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling. Here is a summary of some key 2019 municipal battleground elections:

Mayoral battlegrounds

Battleground mayoral elections, 2019Municipal Government Final.png
Chicago, Illinois • Dallas, Texas • Denver, Colorado • Houston, Texas • Jacksonville, Florida • Kansas City, Missouri • Memphis, Tennessee • Nashville, Tennessee • Phoenix, Arizona • Tampa, Florida


Phoenix

See also: Mayoral election in Phoenix, Arizona (2018-2019)

Jacksonville

See also: Mayoral election in Jacksonville, Florida (2019)

Chicago

See also: Mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois (2019)

Tampa

See also: Mayoral election in Tampa, Florida (2019)
  • Former police chief Jane Castor defeated philanthropist David Straz in the April 23 runoff for Tampa's open mayoral seat. Bob Buckhorn, Tampa's mayor, was prevented by term limits from seeking re-election. Transportation and congestion relief were major issues in the race.

Kansas City

See also: Mayoral election in Kansas City, Missouri (2019)
  • Cty council member Quinton Lucas defeated council member Jolie Justus in the Kansas City, Missouri, mayoral election on June 18. Incumbent Mayor Sly James was prevented by term limits from seeking re-election. Lucas campaigned as an outsider while Justus focused on her experience in the state Senate and city council. A primary election took place on April 2 to narrow the field of 11 candidates to two.

Dallas

See also: Mayoral election in Dallas, Texas (2019)
  • Dallas, Texas, held a nonpartisan election for mayor on May 4 and a runoff on June 8, 2019. State Rep. Eric Johnson (D) defeated City Councilman Scott Griggs in a race characterized by debate over who was best equipped to build consensus on the city council. Dallas has a council-manager form of government, meaning the mayor serves as a member of the city council. The seat was open as incumbent Mike Rawlings (D), in office since 2011, was prevented by term limits from seeking re-election.

Denver

See also: Mayoral election in Denver, Colorado (2019)
  • Incumbent Michael Hancock won re-election against urban development consultant Jamie Giellis on June 4, 2019. Denverite described the election as "a referendum on growth and its far-reaching effects, from transportation options and economic prowess to neighborhood aesthetics and displacement."[1]

Nashville

See also: Mayoral election in Nashville, Tennessee (2019)
  • At-Large Metro Councilmember John Cooper defeated incumbent Mayor David Briley in a mayoral runoff election in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 12, 2019. Briley was the first mayor to lose a re-election bid since Nashville's Metro government formed in 1963. He had taken office upon the resignation of Mayor Megan Barry in March 2018 and won election in May 2018 to complete her term. Cooper emphasized fiscal stewardship in his campaign and said he'd shift focus to neighborhoods and away from incentives for downtown projects.

Memphis

See also: Mayoral election in Memphis, Tennessee (2019)
  • Incumbent Jim Strickland defeated former Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Commissioner Tamara Sawyer, and nine other candidates on October 3, 2019, to win election to a second four-year term as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Strickland was first elected in 2015, defeating incumbent A.C. Wharton with 41.3 percent of the vote.

Houston

See also: Mayoral election in Houston, Texas (2019)
  • Incumbent Sylvester Turner was re-elected in the December 14, 2019, runoff election for mayor of Houston, Texas. Turner and Tony Buzbee advanced to the runoff from a 12-candidate general election field. Policy debate in the race centered on Turner's record during his first term, especially regarding his handling of the city's budget and spending priorities. Turner was first elected mayor in 2015.

City council battlegrounds

Chicago

See also: City council elections in Chicago, Illinois (2019)
  • All 50 seats on the Chicago City Council were up for election in 2019. The council gained 12 newcomers as a result of the 2019 elections, between five open races and seven incumbents defeated. Forty-five incumbents sought re-election. Fifteen races advanced to runoff elections. Each council member represents one of the city's 50 wards, and an average of 54,000 people lived in each ward as of the election.

Philadelphia

See also: City council elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2019)
  • All 17 seats on the Philadelphia City Council were up for election in 2019. Ten of those seats were elected from districts and the remaining seven were elected by the city at-large. Each party could nominate only five candidates for the seven at-large seats, meaning that no one party could win every city council seat. Since Philadelphia adopted its charter in 1951, every city council election through 2015 resulted in five Democrats and two Republicans winning the seven at-large seats. In the 2019 election, Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks won one of the seats previously held by Republicans. Control of the district seats did not change, leaving the council's overall partisan balance at 14 Democrats, two Republicans, and one member of the Working Families Party.

Seattle

See also: City elections in Seattle, Washington (2019)
  • Seven of nine seats on the Seattle City Council were up for election November 5. Three incumbents sought re-election, and they won. The other four races were open. The elections saw record-breaking satellite spending of more than $4 million, with $1.8 million spent by the local chamber of commerce's political action committee, which received $1.5 million from Amazon. The election followed a head tax proposal that was passed and then repealed in 2018. This was the second election in which a voter voucher program was used to provide public funding to campaigns. It was also the second election in recent history in which councilmembers were elected by district; from 1910 to 2013, all Seattle councilmembers were elected at large.

Other municipal battlegrounds

New York City

See also: Public advocate election in New York, New York (2019)
  • Jumaane Williams, a New York City councilman representing parts of Brooklyn, won the special election for New York City public advocate on February 26. Seventeen candidates ran in the race. Williams served until December 31. The public advocate is first in the mayoral line of succession and acts as a watchdog and ombudsman for the public. The public advocate may sit in meetings of the City Council and introduce legislation but may not vote on any measure.

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.


Municipal elections across the United States

Use the tabs below to sort 2019 municipal elections either by state or by date.

By state

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Massachusetts


Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

During the 2019 election cycle, Ballotpedia temporarily expanded its coverage of North Carolina in order to provide voters with a comprehensive statewide sample ballot. This coverage included North Carolina elections spanning 503 cities, towns, and villages, nine school districts, and 17 special districts. No North Carolina counties held elections in 2019. Click here for more information about North Carolina's local elections.


Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Note: Payson and Vineyard were not part of America's 100 largest cities by population. Ballotpedia covered their elections in 2019 due to their experimentation with ranked-choice voting.

Virginia

Washington

  • King County, Washington - County commissioners, county assessor, county elections director, county prosecutor, Port of Seattle Commission, water district commissioner, sewer district commissioner, and superior court judges
  • Seattle, Washington - City council

Wisconsin


By date

February 12

Primary election

General election

February 19

Primary election

February 26

General election

March 5

Primary election

General election

March 12

General election

March 19

General election

March 30

Primary election

April 2

Primary election

General election

April 9

Primary election

April 13

General election

April 16

General election

April 23

General election

May 4

General election

May 7

Primary election

General election

May 14

General election

May 21

Primary election

General election

June 4

Primary election

General election

June 8

General election

June 11

Primary election

General election

June 18

General election

June 25

Primary election

July 16

Primary election

August 1

General election

August 6

Primary election

August 13

General election

August 27

Primary election

September 5

General election

September 10

Primary election

September 12

General election

September 17

General election

September 24

Primary election

October 3

General election

October 8

Primary election

General election

Special election

October 12

Special election

October 15

General election

November 5

Primary election

General election

Note: The Utah cities of Payson and Vineyard were not part of America's 100 largest cities by population. Ballotpedia covered their elections in 2019 due to their experimentation with ranked-choice voting.

Runoff election

November 16

Special election runoff (if necessary)

November 19

General election

December 3

General election

December 10

General election

December 14

General election


List of 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.

Historical election data

The 100 largest cities in the U.S. held an average of 28.8 mayoral elections and 48.8 city council elections each year between 2014 and 2018. Ballotpedia covers local elections in America’s 100 largest cities by population and in the counties that overlap those cities. This section includes statistics for mayoral elections, city council elections, and county elections between 2014 and 2018, comparing uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.

The following table details the total number of elections at the city and county level covered by Ballotpedia between 2014 and 2018, including the number of cities to hold mayoral and city council elections in a given year:

Total municipal elections covered by Ballotpedia from 2014 to 2018
Year Cities Mayor City council Counties
2018
58
26
49
78
2017
59
36
50
23
2016
46
25
45
12
2015
59
33
58
N/A
2014
43
24
42
N/A

Mayoral elections

Between 2014 and 2018, 66.7% of incumbent mayors sought re-election; of these, 16.7% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were defeated compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.

The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of mayoral races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.

Mayoral election incumbency statistics from 2014 to 2018
Year Total seats Uncontested Incumbents who
sought re-election 		Incumbents defeated
# % # % # %
2018
26
1
3.8%
18
69.2%
1
5.6%
2017
36
0
0.0%
24
66.7%
5
20.8%
2016
25
4
16.0%
15
60.0%
4
26.7%
2015
33
3
9.1%
25
75.8%
4
16.0%
2014
24
2
8.3%
14
58.3%
2
14.3%

City council elections

Between 2014 and 2018, 69.5% of city council incumbents sought re-election; of these, 12.8% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were defeated compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.

The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of city council races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.

City council election incumbency statistics from 2014 to 2018
Year Total seats Uncontested Incumbents who
sought re-election 		Incumbents defeated
# % # % # %
2018
200
29
14.5%
137
68.5%
19
13.9%
2017
367
47
12.8%
274
74.7%
37
13.5%
2016
216
48
22.2%
156
72.2%
22
14.1%
2015
467
97
20.8%
309
66.2%
30
9.7%
2014
198
31
15.7%
130
65.7%
21
16.2%

County elections

Ballotpedia covered 2,168 county and special district races across 78 large counties in 2018. Of these, 1,115 (51.4%) races were uncontested and 1,807 (83.3%) incumbents sought re-election. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 176 (9.7%) were defeated.

By comparison, 23 large counties held elections for county and special district officials in 2017. A total of 108 positions were up for election, and incumbents ran in 74 (68.5%) of those races. Nine incumbents (12.2%) lost their re-election bids, and 47 elections (43.5%) featured only one candidate.

Uncontested races

An average of 2.0 mayoral races and 50.4 city council races went uncontested between 2014 and 2018. In terms of mayoral elections, 2016 saw the highest number of uncontested races (four) and 2017 saw the fewest (zero). For city council seats, 2015 had the highest number of uncontested races (97) and 2018 had the fewest (29). The chart below shows the percentage of uncontested mayoral and city council races between 2014 and 2018.


Issues

The following issues featured prominently across a number of municipal elections Ballotpedia covered in 2019. Summaries of how the issues presented in select races are below.

Development

Development was an issue across several mayoral elections in 2019.

One of the major issues discussed during the mayoral election in Chicago, lllinois, was tax increment financing. The purpose of TIF programs is to fund development with increases in property tax revenue that arise from an increase in property values due to the development itself. Election winner Lori Lightfoot and candidate Toni Preckwinkle both criticized the way in which the program had been used, saying it was not focused on struggling neighborhoods as it should have been. Lightfoot proposed increasing performance analysis of TIF districts and increasing the standards for designating TIF districts. Preckwinkle supported giving the annual TIF surplus to Chicago Public Schools and "unwinding as many of those TIFs as we possibly can." Click here for more on the issue of development in Chicago's mayoral election.

In Dallas, Texas, mayoral election winner Eric Johnson and candidate Scott Griggs had different opinions of former Mayor Mike Rawlings' GrowSouth—an initiative aimed at increasing public and private investment in developing the southern portion of the city. Griggs said that the initiative did not address poverty in the city and that city and federal funds should be directed to Racially & Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Johnson said that he agreed with the idea of adding to the tax base and generating more revenue in southern Dallas and that he would continue the initiative. He said he'd add a second phase of improving workforce readiness. Click here to learn more about the development debate in Dallas' mayoral race.

The mayoral election in Denver, Colorado, followed a decade of rapid population growth, increased housing costs, and large-scale development in the city. Incumbent Mayor Michael B. Hancock, who won the 2019 election, and challenger Jamie Giellis differed in their plans for the city. Hancock stood by his Denveright plan, which he said was based on community feedback and would allow the city to continue its growth rate through 2040. Giellis said that the mayor's plan did not emphasize transit enough and that she would increase neighborhood-level control over development. Click here for more on this debate in Denver's mayoral race.

Taxes

Taxes were another issue prominently featured across several municipal elections in 2019.

The city council elections in Seattle, Washington, took place a year and a half after the repeal of a head tax proposal, which would have required businesses grossing at least $20 million to pay $275 per employee in order to fund affordable housing programs for the homeless. The city council voted to pass the head tax 9-0 in May 2018 but then repealed it by a 7-2 vote in June 2018 after running into opposition from the city’s business community, including online retailer Amazon. Amazon contributed $1.5 million to a political action committee (PAC) that endorsed in all seven races, including challengers to two of the three incumbents who sought re-election. Candidates backed by the PAC won two races, and all three incumbents won re-election. Click here to learn more about the head tax issue in Seattle's city elections.

The mayoral election in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, saw debate around a 1.5-cent-per-ounce soda tax that went into effect in 2017. A December 2018 report issued by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart (D) found that the tax had raised $137 million in revenue as of the end of the third quarter of 2018. Seventy-four percent of the funds raised had not been spent. The majority of the $36 million that had been spent ($31.7 million) was allocated towards pre-K programs. In March 2019, the Philadelphia City Council passed a bill calling for a study into the tax's impact. Incumbent James Kenney (D), who won re-election, supported the soda tax, saying the preschool programs it funded had been successful. Challenger William Ciancaglini (R) called for repealing the tax, saying it had a disproportionate impact on business owners. Click here for more on the soda tax debate in Philadelphia's mayoral election.

Affordable housing

Affordable housing was a topic of debate in several 2019 city elections.

In Chicago, Illinois, mayoral candidates proposed plans to increase affordable housing in the city. Election winner Lori Lightfoot and challenger Toni Preckwinkle both supported increasing the number of affordable housing units certain developers would be required to build as part of their residential projects within the city. The candidates split on whether the city should consider rent control, which was banned by the Illinois General Assembly in 1997. Lightfoot opposed rent control as an immediate focus, while Preckwinkle supported lifting the ban so municipalities could decide whether to enact rent control. Click here for more on the affordable housing debate in the Chicago mayoral election.

Mayoral candidates in Denver, Colorado, also discussed affordable housing. Election winner and incumbent Mayor Michael B. Hancock said his administration created Denver's first affordable housing fund and had spent more on the issue than the Colorado state government. Challenger Jamie Giellis said she would create a cabinet-level Office of Attainable Housing, seek to buy back existing affordable housing units, and spend $1 billion on attainable housing over the next decade. Both candidates opposed a proposal before the city council to implement rent control. Click here to learn more about this topic in Denver's mayoral election.

More local election analysis

In 2019, Ballotpedia covered elections for mayor, city council, and all other city officials in the 100 largest cities by population in the United States, as well as elections for county officials whose jurisdictions overlapped with those cities.

Local elections:
United States municipal elections, 2019
School board elections, 2019
Local trial court judicial elections, 2019
Local ballot measure elections in 2019
Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2019)
Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024


See also

Local Politics 2019 Election Analysis
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Municipal government
Local courts
School boards
Local ballot measures
Local recalls

Municipal elections, 2019
Local court elections, 2019
School board elections, 2019
Local ballot measure elections, 2019
Political recall efforts, 2019

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Denverite, "What candidates have to do to win Denver’s May 2019 race for mayor," March 14, 2019
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