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2016 Municipal Elections

Elections by:

State Date Type

This page contains links to all municipal elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2016 by state, by date, and by type. At the time of this election, Ballotpedia covered elections in the top 100 cities by population and select counties each year.

Municipal elections across the United States[edit]

By state[edit]

By date[edit]

By type[edit]

Cities[edit]

Counties[edit]

Partisan control[edit]

As a result of elections in 2016, Republicans gained one mayorship in America's 100 largest cities, while the number of Democratic mayors decreased by one.

Analysis[edit]

See also: November city and county election data review: Fresh faces from mayoral races

On November 8, 2016, 33 of America's largest 100 cities by population held elections. Ballotpedia also covered elections in 12 large counties across the United States. Across those 45 municipalities, there were 287 positions up for election. Incumbents ran in 195 (67.9 percent) of those races, and 24 (12.3 percent) were defeated in their re-election bids. To read our review of the most interesting races, click here.

Cities[edit]

Across the largest 100 cities by population, 33 cities held elections for mayor or city council. A total of 158 positions were up for election, and incumbents ran in 108 (68.4 percent) of those races. Fifteen incumbents (13.9 percent) lost their re-election bids.

Counties[edit]

Ballotpedia provided coverage of 12 large counties with elections in 2016. A total of 129 county official and special district offices were up for election, and incumbents ran in 87 (67.4 percent) of those races. Nine incumbents (10.3 percent) lost their re-election bids.

The big picture[edit]

Partisanship in local elections[edit]

See also: Partisanship in local elections (2016)

Local elections are often nonpartisan by law, but they are not isolated from or immune to partisan politics. The Democratic and Republican parties—as well as minor and local political parties ideologically aligned with one or the other major party—are in constant conflict over the level of government closest to home.

In some localities, liberals and conservatives have fought over city offices for years. In others, one group has dominated the political landscape without much challenge for decades. This partisan reality is often hidden from the public, as candidates and officeholders at the local level may refrain from associating themselves with more polarizing state and national political figures and issues. Nevertheless, understanding the connection between partisan ideology and local politics is essential to grasping who's in control of local government.

Partisanship in city elections[edit]

See also: Partisanship in United States mayoral elections (2016)

Each municipality is a unique entity with a different mixture of partisanship in terms of its elected officials and residents, but some trends may be discerned. Big cities tend to have more liberal populations and elected officials, while more rural areas tend to have more conservative populations and elected officials.^[1] At the start of 2016, 65 mayors in America's 100 largest cities by population were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Governing magazine claimed, "Cities have been magnets for younger, more diverse populations that tend to be socially liberal. This makes the Republican Party, with its national image of social conservatism, a tough sell."^[2]

Although only 16 of these cities have officially partisan elections, many candidates who run in nonpartisan races are endorsed by or otherwise affiliated with local political parties. Mayors with a known political affiliation are treated as members of that party for the purposes of this study even though they may hold a nonpartisan office.^[3]

Democratic mayors significantly outnumber Republican mayors in America's 100 largest cities, and the Democratic Party's control over these mayoral offices is greater than the party's control over any other major political position. Their 65 percent of control in 2016 was higher than the party's control over the U.S. Senate (44 percent), U.S. House (43 percent), state legislators (43 percent), and governors (36 percent).

2016 mayoral races[edit]

See also: Partisan risk

In 2016, there were 25 mayorships up for election. Of the mayors serving in those mayorships, 12 were Republican, 11 were Democratic, one was nonpartisan, and one was of unknown affiliation. These positions up for election accounted for the seats of 44.4 percent of all Republican mayors, 16.4 percent of Democratic mayors, 33.3 percent of nonpartisan mayors, and 33.3 percent of unknown mayors. This large percentage of seats up for election meant Republicans were on the defensive. San Diego's Kevin Faulconer, the only Republican mayor in the 10 largest cities, was up for and won re-election in 2016. He defeated two Democratic challengers in the city's primary election with 58 percent of the vote. If a Democratic candidate would have won that position, the largest city with a Republican mayor would have been Jacksonville.

Mayoral Elections in 2016
City	State	Election Date	Incumbent	Winner
Bakersfield	California	November 8	Harvey Hall	Karen Goh
Baltimore	Maryland	November 8	Stephanie Rawlings-Blake	Catherine Pugh
Baton Rouge	Louisiana	December 10	Kip Holden	Sharon Weston Broome
Chesapeake	Virginia	May 3	Alan P. Krasnoff*	Alan P. Krasnoff
Corpus Christi	Texas	November 8	Nelda Martinez*	Dan McQueen
Fremont	California	November 8	Bill Harrison*	Lily Mei
Fresno	California	November 8	Ashley Swearengin	Lee Brand
Gilbert	Arizona	November 8	John Lewis	Jenn Daniels
Glendale	Arizona	August 30	Jerry Weiers*	Jerry Weiers
Honolulu	Hawaii	November 8	Kirk Caldwell*	Kirk Caldwell
Irvine	California	November 8	Steven S. Choi	Don Wagner
Lubbock	Texas	May 7	Glen Robertson	Dan Pope
Mesa	Arizona	August 30	John Giles*	John Giles
Milwaukee	Wisconsin	April 5	Tom Barrett*	Tom Barrett
Norfolk	Virginia	May 3	Paul Fraim	Kenny Alexander
Portland	Oregon	May 17	Charlie Hales	Ted Wheeler
Riverside	California	June 7	Rusty Bailey*	Rusty Bailey
Sacramento	California	June 7	Kevin Johnson	Darrell Steinberg
San Diego	California	June 7	Kevin Faulconer*	Kevin Faulconer
Santa Ana	California	November 8	Miguel Pulido*	Miguel Pulido
Scottsdale	Arizona	November 8	Jim Lane*	Jim Lane
Stockton	California	November 8	Anthony Silva*	Michael Tubbs
Tulsa	Oklahoma	June 28	Dewey Bartlett Jr.*	G. T. Bynum
Virginia Beach	Virginia	November 8	Will Sessoms*	Will Sessoms
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	November 8	Allen Joines*	Allen Joines

*Denotes an incumbent who ran for re-election.

Money in local elections[edit]

See also: Money in local elections (2016)

Former FEC Chairman Robert Lenhard

Few issues received as much attention in previous election cycles as did the role of money in politics. Although most of the attention on the issue went to money in federal elections, former Federal Election Commission Chairman Robert Lenhard claimed that, "The relative impact of a Super PAC can be far greater in a down-ticket race."^[4]

The amount of money raised and spent by political candidates and outside groups in local elections can vary dramatically. Although most local elections feature little campaign spending or political advertisements, some resemble state or even congressional elections in terms of the money involved. This spending may stem from partisan battles between Democrats and Republicans or interest groups such as business associations or labor unions.

Money in city elections[edit]

Elections for county and city offices tend to receive more attention than other local elections. This attention manifests by way of voter turnout, media coverage, and political spending. The size of the city and the structure of its government are important variables impacting the amount of money campaigns need in order to win. One research study found that the average cost to run a successful city council campaign in a major American city ranged from $112,512 to $193,732 depending on the election system.^[5]

Mayoral campaigns in big cities tend to be much more expensive. For example, the Chicago Tribune estimated that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's (D) campaign and PAC spent more than $22.8 million on his 2015 re-election bid. His general election opponent spent less than $5 million.^[6] By comparison, the mayoral election in America's 99th-largest city by population—Boise, Idaho—featured less than $250,000 raised by all three candidates.^[7]

Race, law enforcement and the ballot box[edit]

See also: Race, law enforcement, and the ballot box (2016)

In cities across the country, major law enforcement-related incidents occurred in the years prior to the 2016 election. These included the shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Laquan McDonald in Chicago, along with the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, following an arrest. During the 2016 election cycle, Ballotpedia measured the impact of those events on municipal elections. Areas of research included incumbent re-election rates, voter turnout, and the prevalence of discussions about public safety and crime among candidates for office.

Hotspots[edit]

The following were cities with elections in 2016 that featured conversations surrounding public safety:

• Baltimore, Maryland - The death of Freddie Gray while in police custody and the subsequent protests had a major impact on the mayoral election. Gray died from a severe spinal injury, which he sustained during the course of an arrest that took place on April 12, 2015, in a west Baltimore neighborhood. Much of the debate in the mayoral primaries focused on public safety. The retirement of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) led to a large and diverse field of candidates. Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson (D) ran in the primary election but did not win the Democratic nomination.

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana - The shooting death of Alton Sterling created questions about the local police department and its use of body cameras. Sterling was shot and killed by two police officers in the early morning hours of July 5, 2016. Mayor Kip Holden (D) ran for election to U.S. Congress in the the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana rather than seeking re-election.^[8]

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Crime was one of a few talking points in the run-up to the mayoral general election in April. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that there were 145 homicides in Milwaukee in 2015 that met the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) criteria for homicides, which does not include deaths that were deemed to have occurred due to self-defense. This was a significant increase from the 86 UCR homicides that occurred in 2014. According to the Sentinel's Homicide Tracker, 84 percent of those killed in Milwaukee in 2015 were black and 88 percent were male.^[9][10]

• Norfolk, Virginia - Multiple shootings over the first weekend in March made crime a key talking point for one mayoral candidate who consequently drew ridicule from his competitors. Sheriff Robert McCabe argued that citizens were unsafe due to a lack of officers in the city. Both Councilman Andrew Protogyrou and eventual winner State Sen. Kenny Alexander (D) downplayed McCabe's comments as an effort to politicize shootings.

• Stockton, California - The city gained a reputation for high violent crime rates in the wake of its 2012 bankruptcy. Forbes listed the city as the eighth-most violent city in the United States in 2012, citing budget cuts to the police department.^[11] Mayor Anthony Silva (R) touted a reduction in violent crimes since 2013 on his campaign website, while Silva's opponents offered crime reduction proposals in their 2016 campaigns.

Crime rates[edit]

Across America's 100 largest cities with 2016 elections, the average crime rate per 1,000 people was 40.72. This was split between 5.60 violent crimes and 35.11 property crimes per 1,000 people. The city with the lowest violent crime rate was Irvine, California, at 0.64, while Oakland, California, had the highest at 17.00. These two cities also had the least and most property crime, with 13.71 and 60.28, respectively.^[12]

Preemption conflicts[edit]

See also: Preemption conflicts between state and local governments (2016)

Local officials and state governments throughout the United States struggled to resolve conflicts over policy issues in 2016. Tensions emerged as local governments tried to assert control over policy decisions impacting their residents, while state governments—seeking uniformity in policy across communities within their purview—pushed back. The fault lines between local and state governments included fracking, firearms, and LGBT issues, which drew attention from national media including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal due to their potential repercussions on future policy discussions.^[13][14]

Legislators and governors argue that preemption allows states to create consistent laws across all municipalities. State officials also suggest that they are in better positions than cities to protect the rights of individuals by virtue of a larger view of policy debates. Mayors, city councils, and county officials argue that preemption takes away local control necessary to respond to specific issues. Local officials also suggest that they are more attuned to the needs of the public given the relatively small number of state officials.

See also[edit]

Local Politics	2016 Election Analysis
Municipal government Local courts School boards Local ballot measures Local recalls	Municipal elections, 2016 Local court elections, 2016 School board elections, 2016 Local ballot measure elections, 2016 Political recall efforts, 2016	Local: Partisanship in local elections Local: Money in local elections Local: Preemption conflicts between state and local governments Municipal: Partisanship in United States mayoral elections Municipal: Race, law enforcement, and the ballot box School boards: Education policy at the state and local levels Local ballots: Using local measures to advance national agendas

Footnotes[edit]

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