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Mayoral election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2022)
- Election date: April 5, 2022
- Registration deadline(s): By mail/online/library: March 16, 2022;
At early voting site: April 2, 2022;
At Election Day voting site: April 5, 2022[1] - Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes[1]
- Early voting: March 22-April 2, 2022[2]
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Received by Election Day[3]
- Voter ID: Photo ID[4]
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.[5]
2024 →
← 2020
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| 2022 Milwaukee elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: January 11, 2022 |
| Primary election: February 15, 2022 General election: April 5, 2022 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2022 |
Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson defeated Robert Donovan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's special general election for mayor on April 5, 2022.
The special election was called after Mayor Tom Barrett resigned on December 22, 2021, to become the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. Wisconsin Public Radio's Corrinne Hess wrote the special election "could mean a historic change for Milwaukee. Wisconsin’s largest city could have its first elected Black mayor, or with Donovan, have a conservative leader for the first time."[6]
The office is officially nonpartisan. Johnson said he is a Democrat.[7] When Donovan ran for mayor in 2016, a campaign representative described him as independent.[8] When asked in February 2022 if he thought Milwaukee would elect a conservative mayor, Donovan said, "I think the times are to the point where people are open to looking at some changes."[9]
Johnson first joined the Milwaukee Common Council in 2016. Council members elected him council president in 2020. Johnson said he personally experienced the city's struggles with violence and crime. Johnson emphasized his public safety plan, which he said was comprehensive and included measures to prevent violence. Johnson said he led on securing funds for 200 additional police officers. He criticized Donovan's public safety plan as being outdated.
Donovan served on the council from 2000 to 2020. He lost the 2016 mayoral election to Barrett 30% to 70%. Donovan campaigned on his experience on the council and his past chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee and the Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee. Donovan highlighted his public safety plan, including increasing police staffing and foot and bicycle patrols, and criticized Johnson by saying the city experienced its worst bout of violence during Johnson's time as council president.
The city charter states the council president serves as acting mayor in the event of a vacancy.[10]
Ballotpedia covered 32 mayoral elections in 2022—24 in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and eight in state capitals falling outside the 100 largest cities. At the start of 2022, 62 of the 100 largest cities' mayors were Democrats, 26 were Republicans, and 11 were independent or nonpartisan. One mayor's affiliation was unknown.
Candidates and election results
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
General election
Special general election for Mayor of Milwaukee
Incumbent Cavalier Johnson defeated Robert Donovan in the special general election for Mayor of Milwaukee on April 5, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cavalier Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 71.5 | 62,143 | |
| Robert Donovan (Nonpartisan) | 28.2 | 24,543 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 215 | ||
| Total votes: 86,901 | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Milwaukee
The following candidates ran in the special primary for Mayor of Milwaukee on February 15, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cavalier Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 41.8 | 25,779 | |
| ✔ | Robert Donovan (Nonpartisan) | 22.3 | 13,742 | |
| Lena Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 12.8 | 7,877 | ||
| Marina Dimitrijevic (Nonpartisan) | 12.2 | 7,521 | ||
| Earnell Lucas (Nonpartisan) | 9.5 | 5,886 | ||
| Michael Sampson (Nonpartisan) | 0.8 | 514 | ||
| Ieshuh Griffin (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 315 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 56 | ||
| Total votes: 61,690 | ||||
| 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: Wisconsin elections, 2022
February 15, 2022
- Wisconsin intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2022)
April 5, 2022
- Wisconsin intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2022)
August 9, 2022
- United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2022
- Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022
- Wisconsin gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022
- Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2022
- Wisconsin Treasurer election, 2022
- Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2022
- Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2022)
- City elections in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2022)
November 8, 2022
- United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2022
- Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
- Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022
- Wisconsin gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022
- Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2022
- Wisconsin Treasurer election, 2022
- Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2022
- Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2022)
- City elections in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2022)
- Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Question 1, Prohibit Semiautomatic Firearms Advisory Measure (November 2022)
- Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Question 2, Marijuana Legalization Advisory Measure (November 2022)
Candidate comparison
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.
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
- Acting mayor of Milwaukee (Assumed office: 2021)
- Milwaukee Common Council, District 2 (Assumed office: 2016)
Biography: Johnson received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a staff assistant to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and worked at the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee, and the North Avenue Community Development Corporation. Johnson was elected Common Council president by councilmembers in 2020.
Show sources
Sources: Wisconsin Public Radio, "Johnson, Donovan advance to general election in Milwaukee mayoral race," February 15, 2022; Urban Milwaukee, "What Will Cavalier Johnson Do As Mayor?" February 3, 2022; Cavalier Johnson's 2022 campaign website, "On the Issues," accessed February 28, 2022; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee mayoral candidates spar in first public appearance since Tuesday primary," February 20, 2022; Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, February 9, 2016; City of Milwaukee, "Alderman Cavalier Johnson Biography," accessed February 28, 2022
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2022.
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
Milwaukee Common Council, District 8 (2000-2020)
Biography: Donovan attended St. Francis De Sales College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also took courses at Marquette University. During his time on the Common Council, Donovan chaired the Public Safety Committee and the Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee.
Show sources
Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee mayoral candidates spar in first public appearance since Tuesday primary," February 20, 2022; Urban Milwaukee, "What Will Bob Donovan Do As Mayor?" February 10, 2022; Bob Donovan's 2022 campaign website, "My Pledge to Milwaukee," accessed February 28, 2022; Urban Milwaukee, "PERSONNEL FILE: Robert Donovan," accessed February 28, 2022; Bob Donovan's 2022 campaign website, "Home," accessed February 28, 2022
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2022.
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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign advertisements
This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.
Cavalier Johnson
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View more ads here:
Robert Donovan
Have a link to Donovan's campaign ads on YouTube? Email us.
Endorsements
Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
Mayoral partisanship
Twenty-four of the 100 largest U.S. cities held mayoral elections in 2022. Once mayors elected in 2022 assumed office, Democrats held 63 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans held 28, independents held three, and nonpartisan mayors held four. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2022:
- Henderson, Nevada: Michelle Romero (R) was elected to succeed outgoing mayor Debra March (D) on June 14, winning the primary outright with 76% of the vote.
- Anaheim, California: Ashleigh Aitken (D) defeated Acting Mayor Trevor O'Neil (R) and two other candidates on November 8, 2022. Former mayor Harry Sidhu (R) resigned in May 2022.
- Chula Vista, California: John McCann (R) defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) in the November 8 election to succeed term-limited mayor Mary Salas (D).
- North Las Vegas, Nevada: Pamela Goynes-Brown (D) defeated Patricia Spearman (D) in the election to succeed outgoing mayor John J. Lee (R) on November 8, 2022.[11]
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Election spending
Campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission. Click here to access those reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[12][13][14]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Election context
Mayoral election history
2020
See also: Mayoral election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2020)
General election
General election for Mayor of Milwaukee
Incumbent Tom Barrett defeated Lena Taylor in the general election for Mayor of Milwaukee on April 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tom Barrett (Nonpartisan) | 62.5 | 57,492 | |
| Lena Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 36.5 | 33,572 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 852 | ||
| Total votes: 91,916 | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Milwaukee
Incumbent Tom Barrett and Lena Taylor defeated Tony Zielinski and Paul Rasky in the primary for Mayor of Milwaukee on February 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tom Barrett (Nonpartisan) | 50.0 | 33,151 | |
| ✔ | Lena Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 30.7 | 20,347 | |
| Tony Zielinski (Nonpartisan) | 15.7 | 10,385 | ||
| Paul Rasky (Nonpartisan) | 2.9 | 1,902 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 509 | ||
| Total votes: 66,294 | ||||
| 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. | ||||
2016
The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, held elections for mayor and city council on April 5, 2016. A primary election took place on February 16, 2016. All 15 city council seats were up for election. Incumbent Tom Barrett defeated Robert G. Donovan in the Mayor of Milwaukee general election.[15]
| Mayor of Milwaukee, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Tom Barrett Incumbent |
70.01% | 111,016 |
| Robert G. Donovan | 29.69% | 47,082 |
| Write-in votes | 0.3% | 475 |
| Total Votes | 158,573 | |
| Source: City of Milwaukee, "Spring Election Official Results," April 11, 2016 | ||
| Mayor of Milwaukee, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Tom Barrett Incumbent |
46.14% | 30,239 |
| Robert G. Donovan |
32.44% | 21,261 |
| Joe Davis Sr. | 18.51% | 12,132 |
| James Methu | 2.68% | 1,755 |
| Write-in votes | 0.22% | 147 |
| Total Votes | 65,534 | |
| Source: City of Milwaukee, "2016 Spring Primary Final Results," February 19, 2016 | ||
About the city
- See also: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is a city located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. As of 2020, its population was 577,222.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | |
| Population | 577,222 | 5,893,718 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 96 | 54,166 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 42% | 84.3% |
| Black/African American | 38.8% | 6.3% |
| Asian | 4.6% | 2.8% |
| Native American | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 8.4% | 2.3% |
| Multiple | 5.6% | 3.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 19.4% | 7% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 84.4% | 92.6% |
| College graduation rate | 24.6% | 30.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $43,125 | $63,293 |
| Persons below poverty level | 24.6% | 11% |
| 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. | ||
2022 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:
- Arizona gubernatorial election, 2022
- District Attorney election in Nashville, Tennessee (May 3, 2022, Democratic primary)
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022
- United States Senate election in Nevada, 2022
- Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022
See also
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Milwaukee, "How to Register to Vote," accessed March 3, 2022
- ↑ City of Milwaukee, "Early Voting," accessed March 3, 2022
- ↑ City of Milwaukee, "Voting by Absentee Ballot ," accessed March 14, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin.gov, "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS," accessed March 14, 2022
- ↑ City of Milwaukee, "Upcoming elections," accessed March 14, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin Public Radio, "Johnson, Donovan advance to general election in Milwaukee mayoral race," February 15, 2022
- ↑ Urban Milwaukee, "Johnson Ceremonially Sworn In As Mayor," December 23, 2021
- ↑ PolitiFact, "'Republican Bob Donovan' has 'run as a Republican time and again,'" March 11, 2016
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee mayoral candidates spar in first public appearance since Tuesday primary," February 20, 2022
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee mayoral candidates vie for rare open seat. Here's what you should know." December 29, 2021
- ↑ Lee was elected as a Democrat and switched parties in 2021.
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ City of Milwaukee, "2016 Spring Election Candidates," January 8, 2016
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