Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2023)
Forty mayoral elections took place in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and the 50 state capitals in 2023.
Twenty-nine of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2023. Heading into the year, 20 of those cities had a Democratic mayor, seven had a Republican mayor, one mayor was independent, and one mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown. Mayoral offices changed partisan control in five cities in 2023—four as the result of elections and one party switch—resulting in no net change in the number of offices held by Democrats and a net loss of two Republican-held offices. Libertarians and independents gained one office each.
The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2023:
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: Independent Yemi Mobolade defeated Republican Wayne W. Williams in the May 16 runoff election. Incumbent John Suthers, a Republican, was term-limited.
- Jacksonville, Florida: Democrat Donna Deegan defeated Republican Daniel Davis in the May 16 runoff election. Incumbent Lenny Curry, a Republican, was term-limited.
- Dallas, Texas: Mayor Eric Johnson announced on September 22 that he was changing his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.[1]
- Wichita, Kansas: Libertarian Lily Wu defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Brandon Whipple in the November 7 general election.
- Spokane, Washington: Democrat Lisa Brown defeated incumbent Republican mayor Nadine Woodward in the November 7 general election.
Once mayors elected in 2023 assumed office, Democrats held 63 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans held 26, Libertarians held one, independents held four, and nonpartisan mayors held four. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
Eighteen state capitals held mayoral elections in 2023, including 11 capitals that fell outside of the top 100 cities. At the beginning of 2023, 15 of those capitals had a Democratic mayor, two had a Republican mayor, and one mayor was nonpartisan.
One state capital saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2023, resulting in a net gain of one office for Republicans and a net loss of one office for Democrats:
- Springfield, Illinois: Republican Misty Buscher defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Jim Langfelder in the April 4 general election.
After mayors elected in 2023 assumed office, there were 37 Democratic state capital mayors, six Republican mayors, one independent mayor, and two nonpartisan mayors. Four mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
Of the 40 cities with mayoral elections in 2023, 33 held nonpartisan elections, and seven 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
- Top-100 mayoral elections in 2023
- State capital mayoral elections in 2023
- Mayoral partisanship: 2016-2023
- Battleground elections
- Mayors of the 100 largest cities
Tracking mayoral party affiliation in the top 100 cities
Heading into 2023, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 28 mayoral offices, independents held three, and four mayors were nonpartisan. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
O'Connell and Rolli had advanced from a field of 12 candidates in the city's nonpartisan general election on Aug. 3, 2023, with O'Connell finishing first and Rolli placing second. Click here to read more about the general election.
O'Connell received 27% of the vote in the Aug. 3 general election. Axios Nashville's Nate Rau wrote that O'Connell "overcame substantial campaign disadvantages to storm into first place in a crowded general election field...he sold voters on a progressive vision for the city and highlighted his vote against the $2.1 billion Titans stadium deal as proof of his commitment to controlling development growth."[46] Before the general election, O'Connell told The Tennessean that his top priorities were improving basic governmental service such as trash pickup and filling potholes, building a better transportation network, and improving the trust residents have in city government.[47]
Rolli received 20% of the vote in the first round of voting. Axios Nashville's Rau wrote that Rolli "campaigned on addressing crime, keeping taxes low and pressing Metro Nashville Public Schools for improvement. She sold voters on her conservative bona fides by touting her resume."[46] Before the general election, Rolli told The Tennessean that her top priorities were to ensure that all first graders in the city could read, improving public safety, not increasing taxes, and building a better relationship with the state to address regional issues such as transit and homelessness.[48]
After reviewing voting data from the general election, The Tennessean's Cassandra Stephenson wrote that "O'Connell-won precincts largely correlate to Davidson County's most populated districts" and "Rolli brought in the most votes in...areas that have historically netted support for candidates with conservative policy views."[49] Stephenson also wrote that the "O'Connell-Rolli matchup mirrors the 2015 race between Megan Barry and David Fox (who now serves as Rolli's treasurer and campaign manager)."[49] That year, Barry received 23.5% and Fox received 22.8% in the general election from a seven-candidate field. Barry defeated Fox in the runoff, 55% to 45%.
Matt Wiltshire, who finished third in the general election with 17% of the vote, endorsed O'Connell on Aug. 14.[50] State Sens. Jeff Yarbro (D) and Heidi Campbell (D)—who finished fourth and fifth, respectively—endorsed O'Connell on Aug. 9 and 10.[51] Former Nashville school board member Fran Bush, who finished 11th in the general election, endorsed Rolli on Aug. 10.[52]
As a result of the election, O'Connell became Nashville's fourth mayor in five years. Megan Barry resigned in March 2018 after pleading guilty to felony theft of property. After Barry's resignation, Vice Mayor David Briley assumed office and won a special election to retain the office in Aug. 2018. In the 2019 regular mayoral election, Cooper defeated Briley.[53]
The Tennessean invited all mayoral candidates to complete a questionnaire on specific policy topics. Click the links below to view each runoff candidate's response:
Nashville has a strong mayor government, where the mayor serves as chief executive and the city council operates as a legislative branch. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations.
As of Aug. 2023, Democrats held 64 of the mayoral offices in the 100 largest cities in the country, Republicans held 24, independents held four, and nonpartisan mayors held six. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
Mayors of the 100 largest cities
To view a list of the current mayors of the top 100 U.S. cities by population, click here.
See also
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2022)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2021)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2020)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2019)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2018)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2017)
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2016)
Footnotes
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One," September 22, 2023
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One," September 22, 2023
- ↑ City of Santa Clarita, "City Council," accessed December 14, 2022
- ↑ KHTS, "Smyth Sworn In As New Santa Clarita Mayor," December 12, 2023
- ↑ Politico, "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes," February 28, 2023
- ↑ WBEZ, "Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson head to Chicago mayoral runoff," February 28, 2023
- ↑ Chalkbeat Chicago, "Chicago 2023 mayoral election: Former schools chief, teachers union organizer headed to runoff," February 28, 2023
- ↑ NBC News, "Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election," February 28, 2023
- ↑ 9News, "Meet the candidates running for Denver Mayor: Kelly Brough," Feb. 14, 2023
- ↑ Michael Johnston's 2023 campaign website, "Home," accessed Feb. 15, 2023
- ↑ Denverite, "The winners of a Mike Johnston vs. Kelly Brough runoff: Denver’s political and business establishment and Michael Hancock," April 6, 2023
- ↑ Denver Democrats, "A big field. And big decisions to make." March 10, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Kelly Brough," accessed Feb. 15, 2023
- ↑ The Denver Gazette, "ENDORSEMENT: Kelly Brough for Denver mayor," March 28, 2023
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Endorsement: Mike Johnston for Denver mayor," March 16, 2023
- ↑ Denverite, "The Denver mayor’s race is a big deal for you and us. Here’s why we’re spending so much time and energy on it," Feb. 21, 2023
- ↑ Denverite, "What does Denver’s mayor do and how much power does the position have?" Dec. 12, 2022
- ↑ Donna Deegan's campaign website, "Meet Donna," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Donna Deegan," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ Daniel Davis' campaign website, "Home," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ YouTube, "Daniel Davis addresses supporters election night," March 21, 2023
- ↑ Donna Deegan's campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Ron DeSantis endorses Daniel Davis for Jacksonville Mayor," March 31, 2023
- ↑ Daniel Davis' campaign website, "Home," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ In most of the nation's largest cities, mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, though many officeholders and candidates 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.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, Sen. Suzanne Geist advance to general election, "Lincoln Journal Star," April 4, 2023
- ↑ Suzanne Geist for Mayor, "Lastest News - Suzanne Geist Mayor For Lincoln, NE," April 6, 2023
- ↑ The Nebraska Examiner, "Lincoln mayor’s primary pits top Nebraska Dem against dueling wings of GOP," April 3, 2023
- ↑ Lincoln Journal Star, “Leirion Gaylor Baird”, March 18, 2023
- ↑ Leirion for Lincoln Mayor, “Meet Leirion,” accessed April 20, 2023
- ↑ Lincoln Journal Star, “Leirion Gaylor Baird”, April 18, 2019
- ↑ Suzanne Geist for Mayor, “Meet Suzanne Geist - Mayor for Lincoln, NE,” accessed April 21, 2023
- ↑ 1011 NOW, “Suzanne Geist resigns from legislature to go ‘all in’ on Lincoln mayor race,” April 5, 2023
- ↑ Suzanne Geist for Mayor, “Suzanne Geist on the Issues - Mayor For Lincoln, NE,” accessed April 21, 2023
- ↑ The Nebraska Examiner, "Lincoln mayoral candidates Gaylor Baird and Geist trade jabs over which is best for business," April 13, 2023
- ↑ Twitter, "Geist for Mayor," April 18, 2023
- ↑ Lincoln Fire Fighters Association endorses Leirion Gaylor Baird for mayor, "ABC8," March 16, 2023
- ↑ EMILYs List, "EMILYs List Endorses Leirion Gaylor Baird for Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska," February 23, 2023
- ↑ Sierra Club, "2023 Political Endorsements," accessed April 22, 2023
- ↑ Suzanne Geist for Mayor, "Media & News - Suzanne Geist Mayor For Lincoln, NE," accessed April 22, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Public Media, "Costliest Lincoln mayor’s primary sets new, $1 million mark for candidate fundraising," March 28, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, "Political Race Research," accessed April 22, 2023
- ↑ In most of the nation's largest cities, mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, though many officeholders and candidates 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.
- ↑ Axios, "Inside Nashville mayor's decision not to run," February 1, 2023
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Struggling to pick a Nashville mayoral candidate? This scorecard might help.," June 22, 2023
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Axios Nashville, "O'Connell finishes first in Nashville mayor's race, will face Rolli in runoff," August 4, 2023
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Meet Freddie O'Connell, candidate for Nashville mayor," August 15, 2023
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Meet Alice Rolli, candidate for Nashville mayor," August 15, 2023
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 The Tennessean, "Nashville mayoral race: How election maps could foreshadow runoff results," August 17, 2023
- ↑ YouTube, "Matt Wiltshire endorses Freddie O’Connell for Mayor," August 14, 2023
- ↑ The Tennessee Tribune, "Nashville’s Mayoral Candidates Pick Up Endorsements from former Competitors," August 17, 2023
- ↑ Alice Rolli for Nashville Mayor, "Rolli for Mayor Campaign Announces Key Endorsement Welcomes Education and Business Leader to Team," August 11, 2023
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Why we could have as many as four mayors in four years in Nashville," March 7, 2018
- ↑ Linkedin, "Cherelle Parker, Candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia, Former 9th District City Councilwoman/Majority Leader," accessed April 7, 2023
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Philadelphia City Council gets a leadership shakeup, with Cherelle Parker beating Bobby Henon as majority leader," January 6, 2020
- ↑ Cherelle Parker for Mayor, "About Cherelle," accessed April 7, 2023
- ↑ WHYY, "Gun violence, opioid crisis dominate Philly mayoral debate on public health," April 5, 2023
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-rhynhart-828a2b2a/ Linkedin, "Rebecca Rhynhart, Candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia," accessed April 7, 2023]
- ↑ Rebecca Rhynhart for Mayor, "Leadership & Experience," accessed April 7, 2023
- ↑ Parents United for Public Education, "Home," accessed April 10, 2023
- ↑ Axios Philadelphia, "Meet Philadelphia's Dem mayoral candidates: Helen Gym," April 3, 2023
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Breaking down 5 candidates’ paths to victory | The 100th mayor newsletter," April 18, 2023
- ↑ Allan Domb for Mayor, "Allan Domb for Mayor," accessed April 10, 2023
- ↑ The Philadelphia Citizen, "Who Is Jeff Brown?" March 17, 2023
- ↑ Axios Philadelphia, "Meet Philadelphia's Dem mayoral candidates: Jeff Brown," April 3, 2023
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "What is Philly’s resign-to-run rule?" August 15, 2022
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 The Wichita Eagle, "Legalize or criminalize? Wichita mayoral candidates split on marijuana reform," June 17, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Local elections are nonpartisan by law. So why is the Republican Party campaigning?" October 25, 2019
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Wu emerges as front-runner in Wichita mayor’s race, but Whipple says he can still win," August 3, 2023
- ↑ The Sunflower, "Whipple and Wu advance to general elections in mayoral race," August 2, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Lily Wu, Candidate, Mayor of Wichita," accessed July 5, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Lily Wu announces run for Wichita mayor, flexes broad coalition of business support," April 3, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Dr. Brandon Whipple, Mayor at City of Wichita Kansas," accessed June 30, 2023
- ↑ KSN.com, "Brandon Whipple – Wichita mayoral candidate," July 18, 2023
- ↑ KWCH, "Which 2 will move on?: Political expert breaks down crowded Wichita mayoral race," August 1, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Bryan Frye, City Councilman at City of Wichita Kansas," accessed June 30, 2023
- ↑ 'The Wichita Eagle', "City Council member Bryan Frye launches bid to become the next mayor of Wichita," February 17, 2023
- ↑ 'The Wichita Eagle', "City Council member Bryan Frye launches bid to become the next mayor of Wichita," February 17, 2023
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 LinkedIn, "Celeste Racette, Experienced financial institution executive and former bank regulator," accessed July 3, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Celeste Racette, founder of Save Century II, enters race for Wichita mayor," February 3, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Jared Cerullo, Former City Council Member at City of Wichita Kansas," accessed June 30, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Former Wichita City Council appointee Jared Cerullo joins crowded mayoral field," May 31, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Former Wichita City Council appointee Jared Cerullo joins crowded mayoral field," May 31, 2023
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