United States mayoral elections, 2022
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Ballotpedia covered 34 mayoral elections in 2022. This included all mayoral elections in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and all mayoral elections in state capitals.
To read about the three mayoral elections that Ballotpedia designated as battlegrounds in 2022—in Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin—click here.
As of 2022, Ballotpedia tracked the partisan affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities and each state capital, including mayors of cities holding nonpartisan mayoral elections.
Twenty-four of the 100 largest U.S. cities held mayoral elections in 2022. Mayoral offices changed partisan control in four cities, resulting in no net change in the number of offices held by Republicans and Democrats. 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.
Eleven state capitals held mayoral elections in 2022, including eight capitals that fell outside of the top 100 cities. Ballotpedia was unable to determine the partisan affiliation of one state capital mayor who defeated a Republican incumbent in 2022. Once mayors elected in 2022 assumed office, the mayors of 38 state capitals were affiliated with the Democratic Party, five were Republicans, one was independent, and two were nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of four state capital mayors was unknown.
This page includes:
- 2022 mayoral battleground elections
- Mayoral partisanship overview
- Mayoral elections in 2022
- Mayors of the 100 largest cities
- Historical election data
- More local election analysis
2022 mayoral battleground elections
Ballotpedia designates races expected to be particularly competitive or compelling as battlegrounds.
Click below to expand summaries of key races.
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.[23]
Mayoral partisanship in state capitals
Eleven state capitals held mayoral elections in 2022. Six Democratic incumbents and one Republican incumbent were re-elected. Three Democrats were elected to succeed outgoing Democratic incumbents. Ballotpedia was unable to determine the partisan affiliation of one state capital mayor who defeated a Republican incumbent.
Once mayors elected in 2022 assumed office, the mayors of 38 state capitals were affiliated with the Democratic Party, five were Republicans, one was independent, and two were nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of four state capital mayors was unknown.
Mayoral elections across the United States
By state
Arizona
Arkansas
California
- Anaheim, California
- Chula Vista, California
- Irvine, California
- Long Beach, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Oakland, California
- San Bernardino, California
- San Jose, California
- Santa Ana, California
Florida
Kentucky
Nevada
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
By date
February 8
Primary
February 15
Primary
March 1
General
April 5
General
May 7
General
May 10
Primary
General
May 17
Primary
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Salem, Oregon
June 7
Primary
- Chula Vista, California
- Long Beach, California
- Los Angeles, California
- San Bernardino, California
- San Jose, California
June 14
Primary
General
General runoff
June 21
Primary
July 26
General
August 2
Primary
August 23
Primary
September 13
Primary
November 8
General
- Chandler, Arizona
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Anaheim, California
- Chula Vista, California
- Irvine, California
- Long Beach, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Oakland, California
- San Bernardino, California
- San Jose, California
- Santa Ana, California
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Henderson, Nevada
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Reno, Nevada
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Salem, Oregon
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Austin, Texas
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Laredo, Texas
- Washington, D.C.
- Charleston, West Virginia
December 13
General runoff
December 17
General runoff
List of 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.
Historical election data
Cities in Ballotpedia's coverage scope held an average of 30.4 mayoral elections and 52.3 city council elections each year between 2014 and 2021. From 2014 to 2016, our coverage scope included the 100 largest U.S. cities by population. In 2017, Ballotpedia began covering the counties that overlap those cities, as well. In 2021, our coverage scope expanded to include the mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in the 32 state capitals that fell outside the 100 largest U.S. cities.
This section includes statistics for mayoral elections, city council elections, and county elections between 2014 and 2021, 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 2021, 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 2021 | ||||
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| Year | Cities | Mayor | City council | Counties |
Mayoral elections
Between 2014 and 2021, 67.1% of incumbent mayors sought re-election; of these, 17.2% 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.
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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 2021 | |||||||
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| Year | Total seats | Uncontested | Incumbents who sought re-election |
Incumbents defeated | |||
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
City council elections
Between 2014 and 2021, 68.7% of city council incumbents sought re-election; of these, 13.6% 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.
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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 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Uncontested | Incumbents who sought re-election |
Incumbents defeated | |||
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
County elections
Between 2017 and 2021, 83.0% of county and special district incumbents sought re-election; of these, 8.8% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of county races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.
| County election incumbency statistics from 2017 to 2021 | |||||||
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| Year | Total seats | Uncontested | Incumbents who sought re-election |
Incumbents defeated | |||
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Uncontested races
An average of 1.8 mayoral races and 52.6 city council races went uncontested between 2014 and 2021. 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 2021.
More local election analysis
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2022
In 2022, 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.
Featured analysis
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2022): Heading into 2022, the mayors of 62 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 26 mayoral offices, independents held four, and seven mayors were nonpartisan. One mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown.[24]
- United States municipal elections overview
- School board elections
- Local trial court judicial elections
- Local ballot measure elections
- Partisanship in United States municipal elections
- List of endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates
- Rematches in 2022 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 elections to watch, 2022
- Candidates with the same last names, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2022)
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Community Impact, "Election Q&A: Meet the candidates running for Austin mayor," October 18, 2022
- ↑ Axios, "Five questions with Austin mayoral candidate Celia Israel," October 12, 2022
- ↑ Austin Monitor, "Mayoral candidate Israel shares housing platform," June 23, 2022
- ↑ Celia Israel 2022 campaign website, "MOBILITY," accessed December 5, 2022
- ↑ Axios, "Five questions with Austin mayoral candidate Kirk Watson," October 17, 2022
- ↑ Kirk Watson 2022 campaign website, "Housing," accessed December 5, 2022
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 KXAN, "Watch Austin mayor debate: Celia Israel, Kirk Watson discuss affordability, transportation, city’s future," December 1, 2022
- ↑ KXAN, "‘Very consequential’: Meet the candidates for Austin mayor," October 24, 2022
- ↑ KUT, "Austin’s next mayor will serve two years, not the usual four," October 19, 2022
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Bass, Karen," accessed May 16, 2022
- ↑ YouTube, "Get It Done," May 9, 2022
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Caruso," accessed May 16, 2022
- ↑ Rick Caruso's campaign website, "Meet Rick Caruso," accessed May 16, 2022
- ↑ YouTube, "Faith, Family and Community," February 15, 2022
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Rick Caruso changes registration to Democrat as he weighs a run for L.A. mayor," January 24, 2022
- ↑ The New York Times, "Rick Caruso and Karen Bass head to a runoff in the Los Angeles mayor’s race.," June 8, 2022
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Axios, "Why L.A. mayor’s race matters," May 29, 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.
- ↑ In 2021, 28 of the top 100 cities held mayoral elections, and two offices changed partisan control: one as a result of an election, and one as the result of a mayor switching parties. Once mayors elected in 2021 assumed office, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 were Republicans, four were independent, six were nonpartisan, and one was unknown. Ahead of the 2022 election cycle, Ballotpedia updated our list of top 100 cities based on data from the 2020 census, swapping out Birmingham, Alabama, which had a Democratic mayor at the time, and San Bernardino, California, with a Republican mayor, for Santa Clarita, California, with a Republican mayor, and Spokane, Washington, with a nonpartisan mayor.
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